Esteban Quinteros es escritor y promete ser el próximo fenómeno editorial. Santino es su representante, un genio en marketing y venta de libros. Anita es su fan número uno y lidera un club de lectura. Y Carolina es la hermana menor de Quinteros. Estos son los personajes del nuevo thriller de Pablo Mariosa, Póstumo (2025), editado por Del Fondo.

Según Santino “el nuevo lanzamiento se proyecta como un éxito de ventas. Es más, se perfila como nuestro primer best seller”, dice. Sin embargo, el protagonista de esta novedosa propuesta de suspenso, se pregunta si todo lo que está haciendo tiene algún sentido. Duda. Esteban no es una persona ambiciosa. Tampoco un soñador o un optimista. Pero igual sigue, aunque no esté muy seguro de nada.

Un buen día, revisando sus redes sociales, encuentra el mensaje de una tal Anita. “Gracias por todo”, le escribe. Esteban no comprende a qué se refiere, “gracias, ¿por qué?”. Como sea, la tal Anita, es una chica de 25 años, bastante rara, con pensamientos del tipo extremos o porque no, delirantes. Lo cierto es que se obsesiona con el joven escritor y quiere conocerlo. Y aquí es donde la cosa se pone “jevy”.

“Entonces Anita, tiene un pensamiento descabellado, lo sabe. Un pensamiento que la atraviesa como una verdad revelada por un dios, como algo concreto más que una abstracción, algo sólido que podría tocar con la yema de los dedos (…) Va a ser mío para siempre, piensa una vez más. Dice las palabras en voz alta, convierte la idea en una sentencia. (…) ¿Para qué reprimir sus instintos, si está sola entre cuatro paredes?”.

A simple vista, Ana Pellegrini, parece una chica normal como cualquier otra. Pero… Es capaz de cualquier cosa, con tal de ver en persona a Esteban Quinteros, su amor platónico. Por otra parte, Anita es atractiva y lo sabe. Y será esta característica la que al final usará para convencer (¿o manipular?) al desprevenido escritor, y así lograr verlo a solas. “La voz de Anita despierta el deseo de Esteban. Le brota el impulso de besarla, un empuje que debe contener. Se sorprende a sí mismo, sabe que no se caracteriza por ser impulsivo. Le excita pensar en que la mirada de la lectora (Ana) le dio vía libre para tener mucho más que una simple charla”.

Por ahí, ¡no!

¿Y quién es Esteban Quinteros? Es un joven autor porteño. Vive en el barrio de Villa Devoto y según dicen, la vista de la copa de los árboles es una de sus fuentes de inspiración para escribir. Es muy reservado cuando de su vida privada se trata y le rehúye a los encuentros o entrevistas presenciales con lectores. Es tímido. No le gusta la adrenalina ni tampoco la aventura. “Yo no fui uno de esos niños brillantes a los que se le nota a lo lejos lo que serán. Tampoco fui un adolescente con una habilidad superior a la de mis pares. Encontré en la escritura un camino y, con mucho esfuerzo, me formé”. Hasta aquí, tenemos el perfil, más o menos fiel del personaje principal. Un tipo que no quiere líos en su vida. Tranquilo y con una existencia promedio, sin muchas emociones fuertes.

Pero, ¿Vieron cuando leemos y queremos advertirle al personaje de la historia que mejor por ahí no vaya? Bueno, eso es lo que sucede con Póstumo. Todo el tiempo querés gritarle a Esteban que, ¡por ahí, no! pero el muy salame va igual y bue. Y ya sabemos que pasa cuando equivocas el rumbo del camino en un thriller. Pero sigamos.

Todo comienza cuando, ella le deja el número de teléfono escrito en un papelito y él decide llamarla. Se vieron. Y no estuvo del todo bueno. Aun así, insistieron. Y estuvo un poco peor.

A esta altura del relato, reina la oscuridad más extrema, la inquietud y la intensidad y las 248 páginas se vuelan como la nada misma. Imposible parar de leer. Esteban y Anita están en problemas. Más él, que ella. ¿O es al revés? Y entonces te preguntas: cuál de los dos está más chiflado y cuál es el límite entre la admiración genuina y la locura enfermiza. Y hasta dónde puede llegar el deseo. En qué momento hay que decir: basta, se acabó. Yo ya lo hubiera hecho hace rato. Pero ellos… “Esteban se arrastra por el piso hasta llegar a la puerta. Se para e intenta abrirla con desesperación. Anita vuelca el resto del contenido de la botella sobre su cabeza. ¿Te podés calmar? Hablemos de esto. Demasiadas palabras. Anita vuelve a presionar el encendedor para que dé una llama, lo deja caer y es envuelta por el fuego”.

Al mejor estilo de la novela de Stephen King, Misery, el escritor Pablo Mariosa sabe llevarnos al borde del precipicio y dejarnos sin aliento. Maneja el género con la habilidad suficiente como para subirnos a una montaña rusa de emociones que no defrauda y estimula la lectura. Póstumo es su nueva obra de terror psicológico donde al principio todo parece marchar bien para luego irse todo al demonio. Explora la relación autor-fanático en medio de una atmósfera asfixiante, pensada para tenerte en vilo.

Y es al final, casi llegando a la última página, que descubrís al verdadero protagonista de la historia: el horror, el mismo que en ocasiones habita la mente humana y que en ocasiones es capaz de hacer cosas… ¿tremendas?

Nació en Buenos Aires en 1986. Es escritor y psicólogo. Su pasión es contar historias y se propone llegar a lectores en toda América Latina. Desde joven se dedica a la escritura y realizó un recorrido como autor independiente en el que publicó cinco libros de ficción. En pandemia incursionó en el suspenso y ya lleva publicados cuatro thrillers psicológicos: Lucero (2021), La lista (2023), Efecto Regina (2024) y Póstumo (2025).

The matter of American hostages wrongfully detained in Iran could be resolved during negotiations between Tehran and Washington as both sides navigate a fragile ceasefire amid attempts to end the conflict, one expert said.

Ryan Fayhee, a lawyer for Abdolreza «Reza» Valizadeh, 49, who has been detained by Iran for more than a year, stressed the urgency of a diplomatic solution to secure his client’s release as pressure on Iran remains high during the war against the United States and Israel.

«It is my job as Reza’s lawyer to make sure that it doesn’t get lost,» Fayhee told Fox News Digital. «While I have high confidence that this is part of the negotiations, even though the administration hasn’t stated so publicly… it is officially my job to make sure it remains part of those conversations. And equally so — and this is the bigger challenge, because obviously, I don’t have full control — it’s my job to make sure Reza is safe and alive to allow for those negotiations to take place that ideally will secure his release.»

Iran is currently holding six Americans, though only two have been publicly identified: Valizadeh and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati. Both hold dual Iranian and American citizenship and were being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.

WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR

In recent days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued warnings on social media for residents living near the prison to evacuate the area amid continuing airstrikes.

«Despite Reza and Kamran Hekmati both being American citizens, the Iranians don’t recognize their American citizenship,» Fayhee said. «For that reason, they don’t receive traditional consular services. And even if they did, we don’t have an embassy there.»

In February, the State Department designated Iran a «State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention» for arbitrarily arresting Americans to use as bargaining chips in future negotiations.

«For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states,» Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. «This abhorrent practice must end.»

IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL

The designation adds extra layers of isolating tools, such as sanctions and travel restrictions, Fayhee noted.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House, which has called on Iran to release every American being detained.

«President Trump has been clear that he wants every American wrongfully detained to be returned home safe and sound, and that there will be dire consequences for regimes who treat Americans as political pawns,» a White House spokesperson told The Associated Press.

VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART

Islamabad is set to host peace talks between Iran and the U.S. on April 10. (Farooq NAEEM / AFP via Getty Images)

A second round of talks between Tehran and Washington has stalled as a clear path to a diplomatic resolution of the seven-week war remains uncertain. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he was under no pressure to make a deal with Iran, «although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!» he wrote on Truth Social.

Valizadeh was arrested in September 2024 during a visit to see family and was sentenced after being convicted of working with a «hostile government.» As a journalist, he previously reported on the 2009 pro-democracy protests in Iran and the regime’s heavy-handed response. As a result, he was exiled and began working for Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Securing a deal to free any Americans being held in Iran could prove difficult given Tehran’s proclivity for deception, Roger Carstens, the former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, previously told Fox News.

«Strangely, the Russians, the Chinese, the Taliban, and the Venezuelans — when you start getting into hostage discussions, they tell the truth, and they stick to what they promise. You can do a handshake deal with the Taliban, and they’re going to follow through,» Carstens said. «The Iranians? Absolutely not.»

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However, Fayhee, who also served as the lawyer for Paul Rusesabagina — the hotelier portrayed in the 2004 film «Hotel Rwanda» — said he maintains hope for Valizadeh’s release. He noted that Iran is increasingly isolated following its missile strikes on its Arab neighbors and the opposition it faces from Western powers.

«It is the easiest problem on the table to solve, and both sides should acknowledge that,» Fayhee said. «Both sides should focus on it because clearly they’re trying to build a relationship of trust in these negotiations, and this is the surest way to do that.»

«The easiest thing Iran can do to show they’re genuinely interested in backing themselves out of this corner is to release these Americans,» he added. «It is low-hanging fruit.»

Virginians for Fair Elections, a main group fighting to get Virginia voters to approve a ballot referendum that will allow the state to redraw its congressional maps, has been pumped with millions in cash from a web of George Soros-backed dark money groups and top Democratic Party officials.

The money the group has garnered ahead of Tuesday’s vote, which is poised to allow Democrats in the House of Representatives to potentially take four seats from Republicans going into the midterms, also comes from leading Democratic Party figures and organizations like Nancy Pelosi and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Other left-wing juggernauts pumping money into the Democratic Party’s redistricting effort in Virginia include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which once championed the adoption of «independent redistricting commissions,» national green energy group the League of Conservation Voters, and the U.S. House of Representatives campaign arm for the Democratic Party, according to a Fox News Digital review of state campaign finance records and records from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), which tracks public spending in Virginia.

VIRGINIA DEMS ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY ‘STEAMROLLING’ STATE LAW THAT COULD UPEND REDISTRICTING CRUSADE

«Dark money is flooding into Virginia,» GOP strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. «Democrats talked all about the cost of living during the campaign, but all they did once in office was raise taxes and rig elections. It’ll be the same elsewhere across the country in 2026 too.»

Fox News Digital reported in March that the left-wing group fighting to redraw Virginia’s maps raised more than $38 million, according to VPAP’s donation totals based on state campaign finance records. As of right before the mid-April referendum vote, just a handful of weeks later, that total ballooned to more than $64 million.

In 2026, the largest giver to Virginians for Fair Elections was House Majority Forward, the nonprofit counterpart of House Democrats’ House Majority PAC, which has donated over $38 million, records show.

Meanwhile, entities directly tied to Soros, or that obtained significant funding which can be traced back to the billionaire Democrat megadonor, come in second and third in terms of total giving to the group, per VPAP’s accounting of donation totals.

One of those groups, the Fund for Policy Reform Inc, was founded by Soros. The other, titled The Fairness Project, has been funded by groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund and the Tides Foundation, which Soros has given significant funding to.

George Soros pictured on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2020. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DAVID MARCUS: DESPERATE DEMS TAP OBAMA TO PITCH VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING LIES

Another one of the top donors to the left’s Virginians for Fair Elections is American Opportunity Action, described as «a pure pass-through entity» by Parker Thayer, a dark money expert from the conservative Capital Research Center. The group is so new that it does not even appear to have any 990s filed with the IRS but is still one of Virginians for Fair Elections’ top donors, according to VPAP and state campaign finance records.

Top Democratic Party members of Congress from outside Virginia, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Katherine Clark, D-Mass., also donated tens-of-thousands of dollars, according to a review of state campaign finance records. Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s leadership PAC donated $100,000 as well, while the Democratic Party of Virginia put up just shy of a million dollars, per VPAP’s accounting.

Meanwhile, a group founded by Obama wingman Eric Holder, who previously championed «independent redistricting commissions,» provided a more than $10,000 in-kind contribution to the left-wing redistricting group, state election filings show. The League of Conservation Voters, and the Soros-backed MoveOn.org were also among Virginians for Fair Election’s top donors. In terms of labor union support, SEIU gave half-a-million, while AFT gave $100,000.

CBS HOST PRESSES FORMER AG ON DEFENDING PARTISAN REDISTRICTING EFFORTS IN VIRGINIA

Fox News Digital reached out to Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the other top donors pumping thousands or millions into the redistricting battle, but did not receive a response ahead of publication.

«No one wanted to take this action, but in a democracy, we can’t let entire states rig their congressional maps just to bend to the will of one person,» Alexis Magnan-Callaway, a spokesperson for The Fairness Project, told Fox News Digital in March.  

«We have to respond. This amendment is a temporary, one-time exception that gives Virginia voters a voice and meets the needs of the current moment, while ensuring Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process will resume after the 2030 census,» she continued. «This isn’t about favoring one party over another. This is about restoring fairness across the board by temporarily changing Virginia’s congressional districts.»

A main group in Virginia opposing the redistricting effort led by Democrats, Virginians For Fair Maps, raised a little over $3 million at the time of Fox News Digital’s late March report. However, the right-wing redistricting group in Virginia appears to have gained some ground since then as well, albeit still far behind the left’s Virginians for Fair Elections funding totals.

As of just before the referendum vote Tuesday, the anti-redistricting referendum group raised its fundraising total to nearly $20 million, with most of that money coming from a group by the same name that is also a significant donor to the Virginia Republican Party. 

Other donations to the group come from a series of several much smaller donors, such as $50,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation and $100,000 from a wealthy D.C.-area real-estate investor, who donates primarily to GOP campaigns. That investor is the top individual donor at $100,000 out of just a handful of individual contributions, according to VPAP.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has reportedly given more than $500,000 in efforts against the redistricting measure, per reporting from the Virginia Scope. He also has been a leading voice in Virginia holding events to campaign against the measure despite no longer being in office.

Wealthy tech entrepreneur and Republican donor Peter Thiel has reportedly donated to Justice for Democracy PAC, which has been part of the anti-redistricting effort alongside Virginians for Fair Maps as well.