A gripping thriller with a powerful emotional core about a music professor obsessed with Vivaldi, who chooses his victims inspired by his symphonies. A deeply Mexican novel, yet with a universal approach and a distinctive voice that makes it unique.
In Mexico City, for a prestigious cello professor obsessed with Vivaldi, his classes at the music conservatory are like strolls through a garden. He observes his female students—whom he calls “roses”—seeking among them the most perfect, the most innocent and virtuous. Once he wins their trust, he rapes them and kills them. This year, he has chosen Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as the thematic structure for his killings. And he has already found the first rose he will pluck and cut.
Alicia, a 23-year-old woman, dreams of becoming a renowned cellist. She enters the conservatory chasing that dream and meets the charismatic and clever professor who promises to help her secure a scholarship to study in Vienna. Her best friend, Marcela, tries to warn her, but Alicia won’t listen. She meets with the professor alone to rehearse the Vivaldi arrangements he has prepared, while he constantly flatters her.
When Alicia lets her guard down, he seizes the opportunity: he assaults her and ends her life. She becomes the first rose in his garden—his spring rose.
The story unfolds through four distinct voices that build tension and mystery: the professor, two of the victims, and Marcela. Each chapter offers a different perspective. While the professor reveals his twisted worldview and obsession with young women, the victims share their dreams, insecurities, and their connection to him before they vanish. When one narrator dies, another takes her place, ensuring there are always four active points of view.
After Alicia’s disappearance, Marcela is deeply shaken. Soon, two more cello students, Paula and Alondra, suffer the same fate: they have been chosen as the summer and autumn roses. But neither the conservatory director nor the police show much interest in investigating. Marcela, seemingly the only one who senses the professor’s true nature, decides to take matters into her own hands.
She joins forces with Daniel, Paula’s best friend; Alicia’s mother; and Margarita, Alondra’s closest friend, to seek answers. They spread the word about the disappearances on social media, monitor the professor, and search for clues—but nothing works. They need media attention. Then it becomes clear: they will organize a concert in honor of the victims, one that gathers hundreds of students, draws the press, and, hopefully, revives the case.
Fauré’s Requiem becomes the emotional centerpiece of the story, with the conservatory coordinator joining the performance while the director tries, unsuccessfully, to shut it down. In the audience, the professor watches, uneasy. If the concert gains enough attention, the investigation might be reopened.
But then he sees a girl in the crowd.
She is a 17-year-old named Constanza, and the moment he sees her, he knows: she is the one he was missing—the winter rose. The story ends with an open question: will the killer finally be caught, or will he strike again and complete his macabre Four Seasons concert?
KEY INFORMATION: Requiem for the Roses is a novel by emerging and promising author Alejandra Ángeles. As in all her work, the story revolves around characters in a musical setting, but what stands out in this novel is its unique concept: music intertwined with crime.
Another striking feature is the use of four simultaneous voices to tell the story, allowing us to delve into the minds of six main characters—even when one of them, Alicia, is about to die and narrates her part through flashbacks.
The novel is set in Mexico City but can be easily adapted to any other location. Audiovisual references include Promising Young Woman, 13 Reasons Why, or Raising Voices (Ni una más).
Alejandra Ángeles is a Mexican author who often blends fantastical elements with music in her work, always building strong and complex inner conflicts for her characters.
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Feature Film, TV Movie
AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish, English (sample version)
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