La Reina sin espejo

This is the fourth book in the series about a pair of military policemen, Bevilacqua and Chamorro of the Civil Guard. The appearance of a stabbed woman in a town near Saragossa normally would just be one more job for Sergeant Bevilacqua and his woman companion, Corporal Chamorro, but this is no ordinary case; the victim is Neus Barutell, a well-known journalist married to an established Catalan writer. All this attracts the most sensationalist press coverage and subjects the investigators to added pressures. In these peculiar circumstances, Bevilacqua and Chamorro will have to dig up secretly the details of a public life that goes beyond all appearances and immerse themselves in the weaknesses and insecurities that are hidden beneath the reliable and impeccable image of the victim. It will also be necessary to track down in detail her last stories as a journalist. All this investigation brings our protagonists to Barcelona and the first clues that point to a passionate crime done amidst a world of frivolities and vanity, full of cover-ups and secrets and with ramifications that reach to the sordid depths of the city’s worst neighborhoods. In contrast to the other novels in this series, in this one the plot centers around predominantly sexual elements, and even if the writer doesn’t give us detailed inappropriate scenes, nevertheless the language quite frequently is crude and explicit, and the general tone of the book shows a clearly erotic bent. It also presents a frivolous and superficial view of marriage and the family. T.R. – P.C. (2011)