A beautifully written light murder mystery that is immensely atmospheric. We are given multiple points of view of Julia- as well as her own perspective- that speak to her personality and legacy that she left behind after vanishing. The reason it is a light murder mystery is that you can sus out the guilty party rather quickly but this novel really shines in giving us characters that both love and despise Julia in their own right. They feel wholly fleshed out and real- which is a hard thing to do in such a short novel and having to keep it on circling one character.

It was a lovely read. I’ll definitely be picking it up when it is released. Thank you to NetGalley, Archipelago, and the respected author and translator for the advance copy!

A well written mystery that I enjoyed a lot. I wish it had been a bit longer. However I did enjoy the characters and the story as it was. Just wanted a bit more

Fog at Noon gives a multi-perspective account of the disappearance of a woman. The mystery of what happened is kept just a grasp away from the reader throughout the book and the suspense grows with each character providing new insights and observations. Descriptions of place (fog, mountains, snow, etc.) greatly add to the atmosphere.

I enjoy an unreliable narrator (and there were many) but the pacing of switches between the accounts of different people moved too fast for me to build a strong connection/understanding with the characters.

FOG AT NOON by Tomas Gonzalez
4.5 stars

FOG AT NOON follows the story of a missing woman, Julia, as we meet both her and the people in her life after her disappearance. Among these are ex-lovers, a questionable best friend, an ex-husband and a salty sister-in-law. As the book progresses, these voices slowly reveal more about the vanished Julia and where she might have gone.

There's a compelling mix of dark humor, intrigue, and lyrical writing to this novel. You'll get hilarious commentary on Julia's poetry on one page and lovely scene setting of the mountains of Colombia (or snowy New York) on the next. The writing is beautiful but I also found FOG AT NOON easy to read in a day. The final reveals weren't over-the-top or shocking but they were satisfying.

I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy mysteries with a literary bent, and who enjoy reading about the creative life, as many of the characters are writers/artists.