Second recommendation of the year: this time, a proper crime novel. I have always confessed that I do not particularly like this genre, but in this case, I must say, I really like the author. To me, Jordi Solé is a consolidated author who has yet to publish a mediocre or bad novel. They are all excellent, and yet perhaps there are readers who still do not know him. For this reason, although LA NOCHE DE DAMBALLAH was published in Catalan by Columna years ago, a publisher like Alrevés, a specialist in genre, did not want to waste the opportunity to publish this novel in Spanish, despite years having passed. It has the quality and the furious pace that keep you turning the pages. This is how its publishers present it to us:

Early morning, Barcelona’s Zona Franca. On Lluís Artigas’ patrol car radio sounds a 10-50: “Someone has been killed”. The victim is a young Nigerian girl brutally murdered following what turns out to be a voodoo ritual. Artigas, a burned-out agent under suspicion of being corrupt, undertakes an unexpected search for those responsible for this crime. His only ally is Mónica Vidal, a journalist who will do anything for a story, and who is also besieged by her own demons.

LA NOCHE DE DAMBALLAH is a masterfully written novel, with a furious pace, the narrative pulse of crime classics, an ironic tone, and a cynical, always incisive voice. Jordi Solé shows us a little-known, greasy side of Barcelona, where often-unnoticed characters roam. The most compelling is the protagonist, Artigas, a policeman called to become a mythical antihero.

All that’s left is for me to add that I hope that this time the novel gets the recognition it deserves, because it really is a good one.