Additional Crime Fiction Recommendations for 2019 Madrid Book Fair

The Blindness of the Crab (Original title La ceguera del cangrejo Editorial Siruela 2019) by Alexis Ravelo

Alexis Ravelo, of humble origin and autodidactic formation (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, 1971), he has stood out because of his detective novels, short stories and children’s books, but he is also the author of six musical-dramatic shows, the script of a television program, some articles and dozens of lyrics for different singers. He stands up for an artisanal conception of the literary act, in which reflection, uneasiness and pleasantness are combined. His books include: Tres funerales para Eladio Monroy,2006.; La noche de piedra, 2007; Sólo los muertos, 2008; Los tipos duros no leen poesía, 2009; Los días de mercurio, 2010; Morir despacio, La estrategia del pequinés, 2013; La última tumba, 2013; Las flores no sangran, 2015; La otra vida de Ned Blackbird, 2016; Los milagros prohibidos, 2017; El peor de los tiempos, 2017; and La ceguera del cangrejo, 2019.

Siruela publicity page (in Spanish)

Before the Terrible Years (Original title Antes de los años terribles Ediciones Destino, 2019 ) by Víctor del Árbol

Víctor Del Árbol (Spain, 1968) holds a degree in History from the University of Barcelona. He worked as an officer of the Catalan police force from 1992 to 2012. In 2003, he was the runner-up for the VIII Fernando Lara Award with El abismo de los sueños (The Abyss of Dreams) and in 2006, he won the Tiflos de Novela Award with the El peso de los muertos (Weight of the Dead). His novel La tristeza del samurai (The Samurai’s Grief, 2011) received the Le Prix du Polar Européen 2012 and was runner-up of the Prix polar SNCF 2013 in France. Afterwards he published Respirar por la herida (The Breathe through the Wound, 2013), and Un millón de gotas (A Million Drops, 2014) winner of the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière 2015, best foreign noir novel (Magazine Lire) and Le Prix du Polar SNCF 2018. His novel, La víspera de casi todo (The Eve of Almost Everything), was awarded the Nadal Prize in 2016.  His latest publications are Por encima de la lluvia (Above the Rain, 2017) and Antes de los años terribles (Before the Terrible Years, 2019) He was appointed Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des lettres. (Source: Antonia Kerrigan Literary Agency)

Planeta de Libros publicity page (in Spanish)

A Recommendation For Madrid 2019 Book Fair

The Last Ferry (Original title: El último barco) by Domingo Villar

Ed. Siruela, 2019. Softcover with flaps. 712 pages. ISBN: 978-84-17624-27-9

Synopsis: Doctor Andrade’s daughter lives in a blue house where gentle waves lap up against the shore in marked contrast to the uproar on the other side. There, fishing boats are dragged across the sand, sailors splash busily in the water and commuters to the city wait at the dock for the ferry that crosses the Vigo river every half hour.

One autumn morning, while the Galician coast is recovering from a storm, Inspector Caldas is visited by a worried man: his daughter has disappeared. She didn’t come to a family meal on the weekend or give her class in ceramics at the School of Art and Crafts the following Monday.

Although nothing in the home or routine of Mónica Andrade appears to have changed, Leo Caldas will soon find that in life, as on the sea, devastating currents can lurk under the calmest waters.

About the Author: Domingo Villar (Vigo, 1971) works as a film and TV script writer, while he also contributes in written publications. Having been related to the world of wine since he was a child, he is a gastronomic critic for the Cadena Ser. Water-Blue Eyes is the first novel of the Leo Caldas detective series. It has sold extremely well in Spain and Latin America and has been translated into English, Italian and German, among other languages. It was followed by Death on a Galician Shore. The Last Ferry is his third instalment in Leo Caldas detective series.

(Source: Schavelzon · Graham Literary Agency Barcelona)

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Ediciones Siruela publicity page

Press kit

Domingo Villar entry in Wikipedia