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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grim and Unsparing Debut, January 31, 2003
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.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling mystery set in post-Spanish Civil War Madrid, February 19, 2003
When Tejada sees a woman standing by his friend's dead body, he assumes she must be the killer and shoots her in return. This is post-Civil War Madrid and Tejada is part of the winning side's armed force helping to establish the new Francoite regime and clear out any "Reds" or supporters of the losing Republican side. I was nervous initially on reading the blurb for this book as I wondered if I would enjoy a novel which appeared to be sympathetic to Franco's supporters. I need not have worried. In fact, the story is told from more than one point of view. Tejada is a major character but so is the dead woman's lover, her young niece and her niece's teacher. The dead woman was trying to retrieve her niece's school notebook with her homework. It's not long before Tejada realises that his assumption may have been wrong and finds the notebook, prompting him to investigate further. While he's searching for his friend's killer, the dead woman's lover is looking for her killer, ie Tejada. This turns out to be less a mystery about good and evil than one of shades of grey, though I do think Pawel's sympathies are ultimately with the republicans. It's a complicated and absorbing story, but the real strength of the book which stood out for me was skill in characterisation, and I found the portrayal of thoughts and feelings in reaction to historical situations a different and very convincing approach to writing a historical novel. I hope I get a chance to read more books by this author.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Atmospheric historical mystery debut, February 26, 2004
The time is 1939 . The place is Madrid. A member of the guardia civil is murdered in the streets. Sergeant Carlos Tejada Alonso y Leon is assigned to look into the case. A woman is found at the scene kneeling at the body. It is assumed she is the killer. Her anger and verbal abuse leveled at the Nationalist guards confirming her staunch Republican views appears to seal the case. However, as Tejada looks into the past of the murder victim who was a friend of his, doubts begin to emerge. Rebecca Pawel wonderfully evokes the setting of Spain just after its bloody civil war that put Franco into power. Much research went into this extremely well written debut. In fact, the immediacy of the setting brings to mind the war torn novels of J. Robert Janes. There is much poverty and misery on the streets where a simple bar of chocolate would be almost impossibly expensive to obtain. Tejada is a complex character. He evokes mixed feelings in the reader. In spite of summarily executing a prisoner, he reveals a great deal of depth in his views and aspirations. He honestly believes in the Nationalist cause and his strong convictions that he is right make him a sympathetic figure to the readers. The plot is relatively simplistic and not lengthy. A worthwhile and recommended read.
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