The Whispering City
“The plot…is embellished with ingenious twists and turns, and the concept of using linguistics as a detection tool is fascinating. Ana is given a crash course ‘in what she was allowed to think and what she should keep quiet’, and it is this evocation of an era when brutality and repression are the norm that gives real pause for thought.”
Daily Mail (London)
A 2016 Booklist Top 10 Crime Novels of the Year Selection
Barcelona, 1952. General Franco’s fascist government is at the height of its oppressive powers, casting a black shadow across the city. When wealthy socialite Mariona Sobrerroca is found dead in her mansion in the exclusive Tibidabo district, the police scramble to seize control of the investigation. Ana Martí Noguer, an eager young journalist, is surprised to be assigned this important story, shadowing Inspector Isidro Castro.
But Ana soon realizes that a bundle of strange letters unearthed at the scene point to a sequence of events dramatically different from the official version. She enlists the help of her cousin Beatriz, a scholar, and what begins as an intriguing puzzle opens up a series of revelations that implicate the regime’s most influential figures. As the conspiracy unfolds, Ana’s courage and Beatriz’s wits will be their only weapons against the city’s corrupt and murderous elite.
Praise