Manuel Vazquez Montalban

Page Updated: 02/12/99

Manuel Vazquez Montalban

Southern Seas

pbk 11 Nov 99

Off Side

Murder in the Central Committee

pbk 11 Nov 99

About the Author

Bibliography

British Pbk Original - Serpents Tail (1999)

Southern Seas
Translated by Patrick Camiller
The body of Stuart Pedrell, a powerful businessman, is found in a Barcelona suburb. He had disappeared on his way to Polynesia in search of the visionary spirit of Paul Gauguin.
Who better to find the killer of a dead dreamer than Pepe Carvalho, overweight bon viveur and ex-communist? The trail for Pedrell's killer unearths a world of disillusioned lefties, graphic sex and nouvelle cuisine - major ingredients of post-Franco Spain. A tautly-written mystery with an unforgettable - and highly unusual - protagonist.
'Pepe Carvalho is a phlegmatic investigator. His greatest concern is with his stomach, but when not pursuing delicacies, he can unravel the most tangled of mysteries' Sunday Times
'Montalban is a writer who is caustic about the powerful and tender towards the oppressed' TLS
'I cannot wait for other Pepe Carvalho titles to be published here' New Statesman

British Pbk Original - Serpents Tail

Off Side
See Review by Ralph Lees
See Review by Val McDermid - Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill
Translated by Ed Emery
Because you use your centre forward to make yourselves feel like gods who can manage victories and defeats, from the comfortable throne of minor Caesars: the centre forward will be killed at dusk.
To Revive it's flagging fortunes, Barcelona FC has bought the services of Jack Mortimer, European Footballer of the year. But as soon as Mortimer takes possession of his company Porsche, the death threats start. Are they the work of a lone hoaxer, or are they connected with awesome real-estate speculation which is tearing Barcelona apart?
While Catalan pimps and racketeers are being hustled off the streets by Middle Eastern crime syndicates, Pepe Carvalho is thinking of retirement. But the need to save the soul of his beloved Barcelona forces him to accept a case that can only end in disaster....
'Montalban writes with authority and compassion - a Le Carré-like sorrow.' Publishers Weekly

Paperback - Serpents Tail (1999)

First British Edition Serpents Tail (1996)

Murder in the Central Committee
See Review by Ralph Lees
Translated by Patrick Camiller
The lights go out during a meeting of the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party - Fernando Garrido, the general secretary, has been murdered.
Pepe Carvalho, who has worked for both the Party and the CIA, is well suited to track down Garrido's murderer. Unfortunately, the job requires a trip to Madrid, an inhospitable city whose gastronomic and sexual agendas are far inferior to those of Pepe's beloved Barcelona.
'A sharp wit and a knowing eye' Sunday Times
'At last a thriller worthy of the name: a taut, intelligent tour de force set in the shadowy minefield of past-Franco Spanish polities' Julie Burchill
'Splendid flavour of life in Barcelona and Madrid, a memorable hero In Pepe and one of the mast startling love scenes you'll ever come across' Scotsman
'Tightly plotted, very funny, not a one-dimensional character in sight. What more can you ask?' Tangled Web UK

About The Author
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán lives in Barcelona where he was born in 1939. The best-known Spanish novelist writing today, Montalbán is the author of numerous novels and a hugely successful Pepe Carvalho cook book. Montalbán has won both the Raymond Chandler Prize and French Grand Prix for Detective Fiction and has been translated into all major languages.

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Southern Seas (Serpents Tail Pbk, 1999) Pbk Nov 99 (Pepe Carvalho)

Off Side (Serpents Tail Pbk, 1996) (Pepe Carvalho)

Murder in the Central Committee (Serpents Tail, 1996) Serpents Tail Pbk Nov 99 (Pepe Carvalho)

Olympic Death

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