Walking the Lions: A Novel of Suspense [Hardcover]

Stephen Burgen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2002

The unexpected message from Spain that his aunt has just died stuns Alex Nadal. It’s not just that the circumstances of her fatal fall are suspicious, it’s that his father had always led him to believe that his aunt was killed at the end of the Spanish Civil War sixty years ago. With the inheritance of her farm near Barcelona, Alex decides to leave his native New York City for his ancestral homeland. Very soon after landing on Spanish soil, however, Alex finds himself an unwelcome stranger in a country determined to keep its secrets. An unnamed party persistently makes him fantastic offers for his aunt’s estate, with hints of threats if he does not sell—yet no one will answer his questions about the truth behind his true family legacy. But Alex will not be put off and his persistence brings him up against some of the most powerful forces in the country, including Salvador Oriol, the uncrowned king of Catalonia, and his nephew Narcis, a sharply dressed thug with a talent for violence. Yet Alex is not without allies, among them Carmen, the dark-eyed arts correspondent of the Barcelona daily, who seems heaven-sent. On the other side, there is Angel, doyen of hustlers and Carmen’s ex-lover. In a thriller that matches top-notch suspense with the romantic atmosphere of Spain, Alex and Carmen unearth a dossier of explosive information on events that happened in 1938 and forced his father to flee the family farm. In trying to find out why, Alex discovers that this is a country where there is no past, only unfinished business.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian-born journalist Burgen, who lives in Barcelona, where he reports for the Times of London, does a fine job paying homage to Catalonia in his first novel, a thriller with roots in the Spanish Civil War. Unfortunately, the vibrant Spanish setting and sharp historical background can't save an overly familiar and predictable plot. In 1938, Ignasi Nadal left Spain believing he had betrayed three rebels who were executed by the fascists. Years later, worn down by guilt, he committed suicide. Then his sister, Anna, who everyone believed had been killed in the war, dies in Spain, leaving the family farm to Ignasi's son, Alex, the story's hero. Was his father a traitor? Why did he tell his family that his sister was dead? When Alex goes to Spain to sort out the truth, he finds his small inheritance, a 25-acre farm south of Barcelona, at the center of a conspiracy. Why does a corporation want his land badly enough to threaten his life? What really happened during the war that has some prominent people ready to kill to keep secret? The answers aren't hard to guess. The author does have a knack for turning a phrase and is especially good at describing pretty girls: "Her best features: her curved-for-kissing lips and her black, almost Arabic eyes. Dark elliptical mirrors: when you looked in all you saw was yourself." And who can resist a sentence like "Her smiles were protective, they were like Wonder Woman's bangles: harmful things bounced off them"? One hopes Burgen will come up with a plot worthy of his descriptive powers next time.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Burgen's debut is a well-written contemporary political thriller animated by a mystery dating back to the Spanish Civil War. Alex Nadal, a musician in New York, inherits a farm near Barcelona from an aunt he had always been told had died 60 years earlier. When he arrives to claim his inheritance, Alex finds that he is an unwelcome intruder, shadowed by his father's reputation. His father had left the area at the end of the civil war, suspected of having betrayed three boys to the Fascists, who then executed them. No one wants to discuss the past, however, or what is going on in the present. All Alex knows for sure is that someone has threatened to kill him if he doesn't sell the farm. Determined to find out what really happened in 1938, he enlists the aid of a journalist named Carmen. They soon find themselves pitted against one of Catalunya's heroes, Salvador Oriol, a man whose past is inextricably tied to that of Alex's father. This solid thriller, imbued with the atmosphere of modern Catalunya and peopled by intriguing characters, is recommended for collections of popular fiction. [Throughout, the text uses the Catalan spelling for the region known to English speakers as Catalonia.--Ed.] Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucso.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (May 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710241
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710249
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,049,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars But why should the reader care about these people?, May 18, 2010

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Life-long learner "Avid reader" (Arden Hills, MN USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Walking the Lions (Paperback)

You know how some books pull you forward through them, how you cannot put them down? This is not one of them, at least until very near the end.

What makes a book impossible to set down? I kept asking myself that as I read this. The best answer I have developed so far is that not only does the story have to be interesting (which this is), but you must become attached to the characters quickly (which I didn't). They must find their circumstances compelling and you must find THEM compelling. A bond must be created.

For most of the book the lead character's interest in the story's mystery seemed too distant and theoretical to pull me in. Here he is, trying to solve the mystery of the life and death of someone he has never met, in a place that he has never been, where he knows no one. The only connection he has to this place is through is now deceased father's childhood. It was all too remote, too abstract. I found it really hard to connect to the character. Frankly, the only thing that kept me reading is that this is our next book club book and I felt obligated. Interestingly, once the lead character's sister comes on the scene, the connection to the characters pops into place. The first words out of her mouth suddenly give me a reason to care. This would have been a much better book if this "magic" could have happened 200 pages earlier.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Local Color, June 24, 2004

By A Customer

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This review is from: Walking the Lions: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

The strength of this book is the extent to which it is infused with a palpable sense of place. There is quite a bit of accurate local color, including reference to the Catalan language spoken in Barcelona and surrounding areas. Say what one will of Burgen's characters, those who know Barcelona likely would agree with me that the people in the book reflect very recognizable types. I'm not sure that any novel in English, perhaps not even the translations of Manuel Vazquez Montalban, rings as true.

3.0 out of 5 stars A mildly diverting read, March 4, 2004

By 

Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking the Lions: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Alex Nadel travels to Spain after receiving word that his aunt has passed away. He wants to look at the farm that he has inherited which is located near Barcelona. What is especially surprising to Alex is that his aunt was, until recently, still alive. He was told that she was killed during the Spanish Civil War over sixty years ago. Things begin to look highly suspicious when he is threatened unless he agrees to sell the property. Alex, of course, resists, and this sets up the story's conflict as Alex finds himself in increasing danger. Eventually he learns the truth as to why his father left the country and why his land is so valuable to some people.
Stereotypic characters, a surprisingly slow plot and unnecessary complexity keep this debut novel from truly rising above the ordinary. Yet, the mystery, itself, keeps the pages turning. Stephen Burgen, in future books, should concentrate more on plot progression and story line and less on plot complexity. Nonetheless, the writing is strong and the book makes for a mildly diverting read.