{{Infobox Book , name = I Was Dora Suarez , title_orig = , translator = , image = Derek Raymond - I Was Dora Suarez.jpeg , image_caption = First edition , author =

Derek Raymond Robert William Arthur Cook (12 June 1931 – 30 July 1994), better known since the 1980s by his pen name Derek Raymond, was an English crime writer, credited with being a founder of British '' noir''. Biography Early life In 1937, in anticipat ...

, illustrator = , cover_artist =Christopher King , country = UK , language =

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, series = , subject = , genre =

Detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

, publisher =

Scribners Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjor ...

, release_date = 1990 , english_release_date = , media_type = , pages =202 , isbn =978-1-935554-60-8 , oclc = , preceded_by = , followed_by = ''I was Dora Suarez'', published in 1990, is a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

. It is the fourth book in the Factory series, following ''He Died with His Eyes Open'', '' The Devil's Home on Leave'', and ''How the Dead Live''.

Plot summary

In the fourth novel in the Factory series opens, young prostitute Dora Suarez is axed into pieces. The killer then smashes the head of her neighbour, an 86-year-old widow. On the same night, a mile away in the West End, a shotgun blows the top off the head of Felix Roatta, part owner of the seedy Parallel Club. As the detective obsesses over the young woman whose murder he investigates, he discovers that her death is even more bizarre than he had suspected: the murderer ate bits of flesh from Suarez’s corpse and

ejaculated Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. ...

on her thigh.

Autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

results compound the puzzle: Suarez was dying of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, but the pathologist is unable to determine how she had contracted

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

. Then a photo, supplied by a former Parallel hostess, links Suarez to Roatta, and the detective's inquiries at the nightclub reveal her vile and inhuman exploitation.

Criticism

Cook’s notoriety crested following the 1990 publication of what many consider his best – and most repulsive – work: the tortured, redemptive tale of a masochistic serial killer, ''I Was Dora Suarez''. To Cook’s delight, the ensuing novel caused Dan Franklin, the publisher of its three predecessors, to vomit over his desk. As a result of this

reader response Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader (or "audience") and their experience of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author, content, or form ...

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

told the author to take his nauseating wares elsewhere. Scribner took over the fourth novel in the factory series. Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Marilyn Stasio Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,Chris Petit
described it in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as “a book full of coagulating disgust and compassion for the world’s contamination, disease and mutilation, all dwelt on with a feverish,

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

intensity that recalls Donne and the Jacobeans more than any of Raymond’s contemporaries.” Cook recognized ''I Was Dora Suarez'' as his greatest but most onerous achievement: “Writing ''Suarez'' broke me; I see that now. I don’t mean that it broke me physically or mentally, although it came near to doing both. But it changed me; it separated out for ever what was living and what was dead. I realised it was doing so at the time, but not fully, and not how, and not at once. ��I asked for it, though. If you go down into the darkness, you must expect it to leave traces on you coming up — if you do come up. It’s like working in a mine; you hope that hands you can’t see know what they’re doing and will pull you through. I know I wondered half way through ''Suarez'' if I would get through — I mean, if my reason would get through. For the trouble with an experience like ''Suarez'' is that you become what you’re writing, passing like

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

through the language into the situation.” (''The Hidden Files'', pp. 132–133.)

Adaptations

Robin Cook read some excerpts of his novels in a live performance with background music by the alternative rock band

Gallon Drunk Gallon Drunk were an English alternative rock band formed in London in 1988. Their sound contains a variety of influences, from noise to blues and jazz, and is noted for its dark subject matter. Biography The band formed in 1988 with an init ...

. 1990 British novels Novels set in London Charles Scribner's Sons books