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 where food and sex is heavier than in Pepe's beloved Barcelona.

Southern Seas

by Manuel Vazquez Montalban

Published 29 September 1986
Cover copy 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.