Financial Times Summer 2022 Notable Book
"A precious book, certainly the best I read this year. A contemporary police procedural with a literary dimension. I was with the abused, yet deeply likable Melchor Marín from the first page to the last. Highly recommended" - M W Craven
Terra Alta Investigation. Winner of Spain's biggest literary award - the Premio Planeta
When Melchor goes to investigate the gruesome double murder of a wealthy printer and his wife in rural Catalonia, nothing seems to make sense. The young police officer from the big city, hero of a failed terrorist attack, has been sent to Terra Alta until things calm down. Observant, smart, and careful, Melchor is also an outsider.
The son of a Barcelona prostitute who never knew his father, Melchor quickly found himself in trouble and was imprisoned at 19, convicted for driving for a Colombian drug gang. While behind bars, he read Hugo's "Les Misérables" and then his mother was murdered. Admiring both Jean Valjean and Javert - but mostly the relentless Javert - he decided to become a police officer.
Now he's out for revenge, but he can wait, while he has found happiness with his wife, the local librarian, and their daughter, who, of course, is named Cossette.
Slow at first and then faster once he's ordered to drop the case, he follows clues that will reveal the greater truth behind what initially seems like a cold, professional killing.
Translated from Spanish by Anne McLean
Pages: 352, Year of Publication: 2022, Dimensions: 15.2x15.2cm
