“The corruption and hopelessness of modern Guatemalan politics interfere in the life of a womanizing lawyer in this engaging novel . . . Through the lens of Guillermo’s doomed relationship, Unger successfully evokes the tragedy and futility of life in Guatemala in a raw and unforgettable novel.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This novel by Guatemalan-born Unger (The Price of Escape, 2011) offers a compelling portrait of a country shattered by government corruption, civil war, mass murder, drug cartels, ordinary street crime, inequality, desperate poverty, and even the effects of globalization. . . . The rich but tragic sense of place Unger develops in this intriguing literary thriller will appeal to lovers of international crime fiction.”
—Booklist

“Unger bases his latest novel on the true story of a Guatemalan lawyer who planned his own murder in 2009, fleshing out the story with healthy shots of sex and corruption. . . . The political elements in Unger’s story become more gripping through the eyes of his flawed protagonist. He’s especially good at subtly shifting the tone of the narrative so that danger signs build up around Guillermo before either he or the reader realizes.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The Mastermind teems with the pulse of daily life in the tropics: the sights and sounds, the smells and tastes. He takes millionaires, whores, provocateurs, hit men, bankers with deep pockets, and political agendas, and weaves them into a dazzling tapestry. What befalls those driven by hubris—the writing on the wall, a fall from the heights to the depths—are part of the pattern, the biblical tales of warning, the consequences that cannot be avoided . . . Unger is the poet of his complicated homeland . . . How fortunate we are that when Unger speaks for them, his words soar.”
— American Book Review

“Unger has given us not just a riveting portrait of a bizarre series of events, but a window onto the ethical challenges we all face.”
— Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas

“This novel contains so much background and capable storytelling that readers are likely to be blown away by the rich depths of David Unger’s writing. This is a book that pulls no punches . . . This is a compelling story that can easily be read in a single sitting. And, as in any good mystery, when things go wrong, the novel becomes that much more interesting. Even for readers with no interest in Guatemala per se, this is one worth reading for the sheer joy of the writing itself.”
—Reviewing the Evidence

“An intriguing thriller with a fantastical ending. This is a good piece of historical fiction.”
—Book Haunt

“A reimagined account of this stranger-than-fiction tale, spun as a love-story and vivid account of the corruption permeating Guatemalan politics . . . Definitely recommended.”
—Booksreenchanted

“Based on a true story, The Mastermind is a tense political thriller about a successful Guatemalan lawyer whose life takes a strange turn when a failed affair leads to his faking his own death and implicating the government. Unger’s searing political criticism blends with gripping real-life details to sketch an unforgettable picture of modern Guatemalan society.”
— World Literature Today

“In The Mastermind, David Unger’s compelling antihero reminds us of the effects of privilege and corruption, and how that deadly combo can spill from the public to the private sphere. Unger’s Guillermo Rosensweig is on a hallucinatory journey in which everything seems to go right until it goes terribly, terribly wrong. I couldn’t put this down.”
—Achy Obejas, author of Ruins

“In his new novel, David Unger offers us an insider’s guide to war-torn Guatemala and its unforgiving dynamics of power and class. Swaggering, visceral, and sharply astute, The Mastermind is a riveting account of one man’s high-stakes journey to self-reckoning.”
—Cristina García, author of King of Cuba

“David Unger has taken one of the strangest, most sinister affairs in Guatemalan history and, through the power of his imagination and mastery of his art, made it even stranger, richer, disturbingly more human and universal.”
—Francisco Goldman, author of The Interior Circuit

“The Mastermind is a merciless analysis of the dark web of a country, perhaps of a whole continent, and, finally, of all forms of organized power. The novel raises fascinating questions regarding the literary tensions between real-life events and their fictionalization, between Guatemala’s incredible Rosenberg case and Rosensweig, Unger’s imagined alter ego—the way these two characters blur, argue, and battle in the reader’s mind make this an engrossing read.”
—Andrés Neuman, author of The Things We Don’t Do