Do you really think justice has been done?

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A Barcelona Heiress by SergioVila-Sanjuan

Barcelona in the 1920’s at a time of civil unrest and anarchy. Social injustices and civil unrest combine as the striking background to this novel of murder, intrigue and anarchy. Spain is unraveling!
Justice is for the rich and powerful. The story opens with a client (a young showgirl) reporting an attempted robbery by three men to our storyteller, lawyer-journalist Pablo Vilar.
The ingredients are all here for an excellent novel. The background descriptions to the Spanish civil war are compelling. The story that develops against this rich portrayal of the times is somewhat hampered by the labored conversational style of Pablo Vilar as he narrates events. As a consequence the interaction between characters is somewhat stilted. It could be that the flow has been lost in translation, which is a pity; or maybe I should read the work as a traveler searching for meanings in a different cultural and historical framework. Either way this is an otherwise interesting view into the times. I enjoyed the historical aura. I have not been to Barcelona but when I do, I will reread ‘A Barcelona Heiress’ for a sense of place and history.

A NetGalley ARC







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