Books Reviews

A Shortcut to Paradise – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Feb 7, 2011, 16:36 GMT

Praise for Teresa Solana:"Solana\'s excellent novel, set in the streets and parlors of Barcelona, offers both probing social commentary and an excellent crime story."-Booklist"Solana\'s sparkling novel pokes sharp fun at Catalan politics, society and pretensions. The brothers bumble and stumble to the truth and hopefully to further adventures."-Publishers WeeklyMarina Dolç, media figure and writer of bestsellers, is murdered in at the Ritz in Barcelona on the night she wins an ...more

Best selling writer Marina Dolç is found murdered in the Ritz Hotel, Barcelona on the night she wins a major literary prize.  The trophy has been used to batter her to death.  Disgruntled runner up Amadeau Cabestany is immediately arrested.

His only defence is that he was being mugged at the time.  Accident prone private detectives Eduard Marinez and Borja Masdeu are called in to try and prove his innocence.  The results are chaotic and unexpected as they trawl the literary underworld.  Who was the mugger? Why can no one find him?

What was the secret Marina Dolç took to her grave? The identity of the killer is not easy to prove - and certainly unexpected.  A different story, starring private detectives who muddle along and somehow come out with the right answers. 

Particularly impressive is the gentle mockery of the literary world with its pretensions and views. Worth trying if you want to read something a bit different to the usual run of mysteries.