A Shortcut to Paradise (The Borja and Eduard Barcelona Series, 1) - Softcover

Solana, Teresa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904738559 ISBN 13: 9781904738558

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press, 2011

Synopsis

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 Weekly

Marina Dolç, media figure and writer of bestsellers, is murdered in at the Ritz in Barcelona on the night she wins an important literary prize. The killer has battered her to death with the trophy she has just won. The detective twins Borja and Eduard are plunged into the murky waters of the bookish Barcelona scene and need all their wit and skills of improvisation to solve this case of truncated literary lives.

As in A Not So Perfect Crime, Teresa Solana combines humor and roman noir in a critical portrait of contemporary society, in this case with writers as the protagonists. The murder trail leads to the most unlikely places in hilarious scenes worthy of Tom Sharpe, whether in the sausage-making town of Vic, the packed cells of the notorious Modelo prison, or a literary party where guests get high on loaded canapés.

Teresa Solana lives in Barcelona. Born in 1962, she studied philosophy and worked as a literary translator and essayist. She has written several novels kept quietly in her drawer. A Not So Perfect Crime, her first published title, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the best Catalan mystery novel.

About this title

About the Author

Teresa Solana lives in Barcelona. She was born there in 1962, studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona and worked as a literary translator and essayist. She has written several novels kept quietly in her drawer. Her first published novel, A Not So Perfect Crime, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the best crime novel written in Catalan.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The murder of popular novelist Marina Dolç on the very evening she receives the coveted Golden Apple Fiction Prize in Barcelona sets the stage for Solana's outstanding second mystery featuring unlicensed (and untrained) nonidentical twin detectives, Borja Masdéu and Eduard Martínez (after 2008's A Not So Perfect Crime). The arrest of Dolç's bitter rival, Amadeu Cabestany, quickly follows. Cabestany's literary agent hires Masdéu and Martínez to either prove Cabestany innocent or find the real killer. Solana brilliantly skewers the authors, agents, and critics who compose most of the suspects as well as the literary prizes they fight over. The odd but innocent Cabestany finds unexpected notoriety in prison while the detectives try various ploys, including a gathering of suspects à la Agatha Christie. A delightfully droll double-barreled denouement provides a perfect ending to this romp, which should earn its author consideration for the kind of award she so cleverly lampoons. (Mar.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1904738559
• ISBN 13: 9781904738558
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 284