Tattoo: A Pepe Carvalho Mystery (Pepe Carvalho Mysteries) [Paperback]

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (Author), Nick Caistor (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Pepe Carvalho Mysteries | Publication Date: February 1, 2010

"One of the finest examples of European 'noir' literature."—John Harvey

"Montalbán writes with authority and compassion—a Le Carré-like sorrow."—Publishers Weekly

Pepe Carvalho, ex-cop, ex-Marxist, and constant gourmet, is working as a private detective in Barcelona when a body is pulled out of the sea, its face so badly destroyed that the only way of indentifying it is through a tattoo that says "Born to raise hell in hell."

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán was born in Barcelona in 1939. He won both the Raymond Chandler Prize and the French Grand Prix of Detective Fiction for his thrillers. He died in 2003.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those who prefer getting inside characters' heads to figuring out whodunit will enjoy this mystery in Montalbán's series featuring food-loving PI Pepe Carvalho (Buenos Aires Quintet, etc.), first published in Spain in 1976. When the corpse of an unknown man with the words Born to Raise Hell in Hell tattooed on his shoulder surfaces off the Barcelona coast, Ramón Freixas, a hair salon owner, asks Carvalho to investigate. For reasons he doesn't share with the gumshoe, Freixas wants the victim identified. The tattoo's trail takes the detective to Amsterdam, where he figures out the murder was related to the drug trade. Carvalho's cynicism (he divides the world into those who go to jail and those who might go to jail) will make him a familiar figure to hard-boiled devotees. The final twist will appeal to readers comfortable with some ambiguity. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Former cop and current Barcelona PI Pepe Carvalho is content with his life, eating the best foods and dating a high-class prostitute. He only takes on cases that intrigue him, such as that of the tattooed man found washed up on a public beach with no leads to his identity except the tattoo (“Born to raise Hell in Hell”) inscribed across his back. When a local shopkeeper asks Pepe to find out who the man is, Pepe agrees, and soon the trail takes him to Amsterdam, one of his favorite cities. Just as when Carvalho is home in Barcelona, good eating often take precedence over the investigation at hand, and sightseeing only addss to the burden. The slow pace of the investigation is enlivened by Montalban’s descriptions of both Barcelona and Amsterdam, as well as by the fully fleshed secondary characters, from Pepe’s hooker girlfriend to the hairdresser who initially hires him. Recommend this one to fans of Roderic Jeffries’ Enrique Alvarez, the Mallorcan inspector with a taste for good food and slowly paced investigations that easily matches Carvalho. --Jessica Moyer

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846686679
• ISBN-13: 978-1846686672
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Assignment, April 12, 2010

By 

Ted Feit (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tattoo: A Pepe Carvalho Mystery (Pepe Carvalho Mysteries) (Paperback)

An entry in a popular series about Pepe Carvalho, an unusual character who is a private investigator and a gourmet based in Barcelona, this novel was published many years ago in Europe and more recently translated with grace a couple of years ago. The publisher is to be congratulated in reprinting and releasing "Tattoo" and another, "The Man of My Life" (review to follow shortly), in February, among others in this series. Pepe is a charming rascal, with an intriguing background, having had an apparently successful career before he walked away from the CIA to undertake his more or less relaxed profession in his native Spain.

Pepe is retained for a hefty sum by the husband of a local hairdresser to identify a body pulled out of the sea with a face so badly destroyed that the only identification is a tattoo on the back reading "Born to Raise Hell in Hell." Barcelona police attribute the death to local prostitutes and drug dealers and sweep up these elements off the street. Pepe's investigation leads him to Amsterdam, where the victim worked briefly and apparently was involved with a drug gang. But the mystery is not so simple.

The descriptions of Amsterdam, Pepe's appetite for good food, and observations about Barcelona are all interesting, as is Pepe's sex life and relations with Charo, his long-time love [who happens to be a full-time prostitute with a high-class clientele], among others.

Sadly, Montalban died in October of 2003, but we are fortunate that he left such worthy works behind.

Recommended

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining Spanish private investigative Noir, February 5, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tattoo: A Pepe Carvalho Mystery (Pepe Carvalho Mysteries) (Paperback)

Former Barcelona cop, Pepe Carvalho earns a living as a private investigator. However sleuthing is not on the short list of what he loves. Instead his first, second, third and nth love is women especially gourmet dining with beautiful females. He also enjoys on a summer night to use his fireplace burning a book a night especially if a woman joins him.

Two people swimming off a public beach find a badly devoured corpse as the fish dined on the victim's face. On his back is a tattoo "Born to Raise Hell in Hell". After having a tryst interrupted, Senor Ramon Freixas, husband of Senora Queter the hairdresser salon owner, hires Carvalho to find out who the deceased is though he refuses to explain his interest in the corpse. The sleuth starts with neighborhood tattoo shops that lead Carvalho to Amsterdam where he is persona non grata by law enforcement officials and drug gangs.

This is an entertaining Spanish private investigative Noir starring a wonderful cynic who classifies people as: those in jail; those who should be in jail, beautiful women who cherish his mind and body; and gourmet chefs. Fans will enjoy the whodunit that takes a deep look at the underbelly of European society while marveling at an age when chauvinists were acceptable and a person could fly through airport security carrying weapons.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good mystery story, September 27, 2011

By 

Booker G "ultimate reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tattoo: A Pepe Carvalho Mystery (Pepe Carvalho Mysteries) (Paperback)

"Tattoo" is one of earliest installments in the Pepe Carvalho mysteries by Manuel Vazquez Montalban. Carvalho is a private detective in Barcelona, Spain. In Carvalho, Montalban has created a rather unique character in the mystery genre, as Pepe is a former resolute communist, a former CIA agent, a former political prisoner, a gourmet (particularly as relates to the food in Catalonia where Barcelona is located), and a sort of anti-intellectual who uses the theoretical and political books from his library to start fires in his fireplace. He also has a girlfriend, Charo, who is a prostitute.

In "Tattoo" Carvalho is hired by the owner of a beauty salon to identify a dead man who has been found on a local beach with his face eaten off by the fishes. He has a very unusual tattoo, which is the only real means of identification. This plot involves Carvalho in the seamy side of life in Barcelona and in Amsterdam.

Montalban does a great job with this plot. I was involved in the story at all times. The level of complexity is excellent. The resolution is perfect. The characters are varied and portrayed seemingly with authenticity (what do I know about live in Barcelona, after all?). This is a very good mystery with some great descriptions of gourmet food thrown in. Just a real thumbs up for this book.