Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman

A fiendishly fun and charming novel with the quirky appeal of a Pedro Almodóvar film—this feel-good read follows a tightly wound Englishman whose trip to Madrid takes an unexpected turn when he encounters a group of strong-minded women who will do anything to keep the jobs they love.

Atticus Craftsman never travels without a supply of Earl Grey, an electric kettle, and a teacup—so he makes sure he has packed all three after his father, distinguished publishers of Craftsman & Co., sends him to Madrid to shut down a failing literary magazine, Librarte. But when nobody has heard from Atticus in three months, his father knows something must be very wrong.

Fortunately, Inspector Manchego is on the case. Manchego gets to work unraveling the mystery of the Englishman’s disappearance, but there to block him at every turn are the five fiery and close-knit Spanish women who run Librarte and must devise a plan to save the magazine. A botched kidnapping and the rumored discovery of a trove of long-lost Federico García Lorca poems propel Atticus—with Manchego hot on his trail—on a madcap journey through the narrow streets of Madrid and down to the bohemian heart of Andalucía.

Sánchez spellbinds us with larger-than-life characters and heartfelt emotions in this charming tale of clashing cultures and unlikely romance. The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman is at once a humorous, literary caper and a touching love story, marking for an altogether clever and delightfully different read.

International bestselling author Mamen Sánchez is the deputy editor of ¡Hola! Magazine in Spain and editor of ¡Hola! Mexico. She has published five novels; The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman is the first to be published in English. She lives in Madrid.