If you have never heard of Héctor Belascoarán Shayne, let me give you a brief introduction. Belascoarán PI is a fictitious Private Investigator created by award-winning Mexican novelist Paco Ignacio Taibo II.
Like Taibo, Belascoarán PI is a socially and politically conscious man living in 1970s Mexico City. The character was introduced in the novel Días de combat with Taibo writing eight more novels around his famous detective.
In the new Netflix series, we meet Belascoarán at the very beginning of his career and here's how it goes…
What Is Belascoarán PI About?
A Spanish language crime drama, Héctor Belascoarán Shayne is a married engineer in Mexico City. Obsessed with true crime, he notices that a whole series of women have been strangled.
Hating his life, he leaves his corporate job, quits his dull marriage, orders a Private Detective kit from a catalogue and decides he is going to find the strangler.
What he does know is that in order to draw the murderer out, he will have to do something big. So he goes on the 64,000 Pesos tv quiz show, and once he knows he has the strangler's attention, the cat-and-mouse chase begins.
But this is 1978 Mexico, and poor, strangled women don't even make the paper. The police are corrupt, and an independent detective is not welcome, especially when they are trying to solve shocking criminal cases that are terrorising the city.
But through a series of deductions and following his gut PI Belascoarán, along with help from his sister and her university colleagues, manages to get closer than anyone has before.
But chasing a killer who knows who you are can put everybody you know in danger.
Can PI Belascoarán figure out who the killer is in this gritty crime thriller? Yes. But it's going to cost him.
Belascoarán PI Official Trailer
Is Belascoarán PI Worth Watching?
I initially made the mistake of passing over this show. The blurb didn't do it for me, but I was so glad when I went back to it and decided to give it a chance.
First off, Luis Gerardo Méndez plays Belascoarán Shayne. You'll recognise him immediately from Me Time, The Resort and Murder Mystery. He is one of Mexico's most famous actors and he plays this character to perfection.
He's not cocky or arrogant, he's smart and a genuinely nice guy, which makes you root for him as he goes after the serial killer.
The setting is incredible, it literally could be 1978 in Mexico, so the cinematography, set design and costumes are all on point.
With only three episodes, the stories move along at a really good pace, keeping you engaged the whole way.
The first episode deals with the serial killer from the book Days of Combat. The second episode deals with the murder of a union leader and the kidnapping of a young girl from the book An Easy Thing.
And the third episode is where Belascoaran is framed by the police for murder and is based on the book No Happy Ending.
All of them are excellent, so if you love crime dramas, then check out Belascoarán PI, and you won't be disappointed.
Belascoarán PI Netflix Cast
Luis Gerardo Méndez as Héctor Belascoarán Shayne a private detective who tackles shocking criminal cases in 1970s Mexico City.
Silverio Palacios as Gomez Letras, the plumber who shares the office with Belascoarán.
Paulina Gaitan as Irene, the love interest in the first episode.
Mildred Motta as Laura Camposanto, Héctor's sister.
