by Teresa Solana (T. Peter Bush)
SYNOPSIS
A country that doesn't acknowledge its past is destined to repeat its mistakes.
Why murder a sick old man nearing retirement? An investigation into the death of a professor at the University of Barcelona seems particularly baffling for Deputy Inspector Norma Forester of the Catalan police, as word from the top confirms she's the one to lead this case.
The granddaughter of an English member of the International Brigades, Norma has a colourful family life, with a forensic doctor husband, a hippy mother, a squatter daughter and an aunt, a nun in an enclosed order, who operates as a hacker from her austere convent cell.
This blended family sometimes helps and often hinders Norma's investigations.
It seems the spectres of the past have not yet been laid to rest, and there are people who can neither forgive nor forget the cruelties of the Spanish Civil War and all that followed.
REVIEW
Black Storms was the perfect book to read this week, with the beginning of the story taking place on All Saints Eve on Barcelona. Norma Forester, a Deputy Inspector for the police, along with her husband Octavi, a forensic pathologist, are both interrupted during a family birthday meal to attend a crime scene where a history Professor at the University has been strangled. In an interesting twist, the book begins by following the killer as he heads towards the University to commit the murder - something that he has obviously planned for some time. The story then switches to the perspective of the investigation as Norma and her colleagues attempt to catch the killer.
This was an unusual mix of police procedural with an in depth introduction to Norma's family, and there is a lot of time given in the book to exploring their relationships and histories. Normally I prefer to follow the crime or investigation more than any subplots, but as they are all such interesting characters it was really entertaining and interesting to read. Considering that they are all family, it was a surprise that each one was so different and extreme with their personalities, styles and professions. For me, even thought the murder was intriguing, it was the characters that really stood out in this story.
The other thing that I noticed was that Black Storms was just so readable, I flew through the chapters and it's a book that you could really read in one sitting. Sometimes with translated crime fiction, I find that the stories can be quite intense and incredibly detailed (which I love), but it can make them heavy going. This was definitely not the case with this book.
I also loved the Catalonia setting, the opportunity to learn a little about the history and social issues in that region and seeing how an investigation is worked in Barcelona. It has a very different feel to my usual Scandi Crime choices but it was a really enjoyable read and I'm hoping that the time spent introducing all of Norma's extended family and colleagues means that there will be another opportunity to read about them with more books to come in the series!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Teresa Solana is a multi-award-winning Catalan crime writer and literary translator, renowned for her funny, distinctive writing. Her first crime series featuring the unidentical Masdéu twins has been translated into several languages (including English, published by Bitter Lemon Press), and her short story collection The First Prehistoric Serial Killer was longlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger Award in 2019.
Thanks to Corylus Books @CorylusB - Ewa Sherman @sh_ewa for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Police Procedural / Translated Fiction / Crime
ISBN: 978-1739298975
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