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rosseroo's review
4.0
Set in Madrid of 1939, just after the end of the Spanish Civil War, this intriguing crime book hinges on the politics of the place and time. Franco and his nationalist/fascist army and place are in power and busy hunting down remnants of the republican and communist resistance. Spain's cities are scarred by bullet and shell holes, food is exceedingly scarce, and reprisals and disappearances are the order of the day. To the greatly feared Guardia Civil falls the task of maintaining law and order, so when one of their own is shot in the street, a ruthless investigation led by the slain officer's former partner moves swiftly to identify the communist responsible for the assassination.
The investigator is Sgt. Tejada, a respected grizzled veteran who increasingly questions the official party line as he gets accustomed to life after the Civil War. A compelling character, he soon finds himself tangled in a complicated case involving the black market which may or may not be linked to his friend's murder. (French crime writer Didier Daeninckx employed a somewhat similar plot in his 1995 book, A Very Profitable War, set in Paris just after WWII). Meanwhile, a wounded republican must evade capture by the Guardia and mete out his own revenge. The two men's stories both revolve around vengeance, redemption, and hope-seen from opposite ends of the spectrum. Pawel manages to do this without creating a hero and villain dynamic-both are sympathetic, and both are flawed.
Ultimately, the book is rather grim and unsparing, and thus true to the nature of civil war. It's a very good debut, although readers without some previous knowledge of the Spanish Civil War may not get as much from it. If the setting is of interest, check out Alan Furst's spy novel, Night Soldiers, which is set partly in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, and Vittorio Giardino's graphic spy novel No Parasan!, which vividly captures battle-scared Barcelona of the era.
The investigator is Sgt. Tejada, a respected grizzled veteran who increasingly questions the official party line as he gets accustomed to life after the Civil War. A compelling character, he soon finds himself tangled in a complicated case involving the black market which may or may not be linked to his friend's murder. (French crime writer Didier Daeninckx employed a somewhat similar plot in his 1995 book, A Very Profitable War, set in Paris just after WWII). Meanwhile, a wounded republican must evade capture by the Guardia and mete out his own revenge. The two men's stories both revolve around vengeance, redemption, and hope-seen from opposite ends of the spectrum. Pawel manages to do this without creating a hero and villain dynamic-both are sympathetic, and both are flawed.
Ultimately, the book is rather grim and unsparing, and thus true to the nature of civil war. It's a very good debut, although readers without some previous knowledge of the Spanish Civil War may not get as much from it. If the setting is of interest, check out Alan Furst's spy novel, Night Soldiers, which is set partly in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, and Vittorio Giardino's graphic spy novel No Parasan!, which vividly captures battle-scared Barcelona of the era.
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