Death Rites (Paperback)
Book One of the Petra Delicado series
Tough, sexy, at times apparently pitiless, Petra Delicado is a new kind of cop in Spanish crime writing. As she battles with sexist colleagues, ruthless reporters, indifferent witnesses, and hardened criminals, she sometimes thinks her thirst for new challenges and perpetual change is more trouble than it’s worth.
Inspector Delicado has been chained to a tiresome desk job in the documentation department of the Barcelona police force for months. But things are about to change. The department is short-handed and there’s a serial rapist on the loose. Delicado is partnered with the portly and impossibly compliant Sergeant Fermín Garzón with orders to solve the case before it succeeds in ruining the good name of the Barcelona police force. However, the only lead they have is the rapist’s mysterious signature: a circular mark of unknown origins he leaves on his victims’ forearms. No witnesses, no other leads, and no help from the victims themselves. To further complicate her life, Inspector Delicado is dealing with two ex-husbands, the belittling Hugo and incompetent Pepe.
From the winner of the Feminino Lumen Prize for best female writer in Spain comes this gripping and entertaining book in the Petra Delicado series which was widely enjoyed by Spanish-language readers.
Tough, sexy, at times apparently pitiless, Petra Delicado is a new kind of cop in Spanish crime writing. As she battles with sexist colleagues, ruthless reporters, indifferent witnesses, and hardened criminals, she sometimes thinks her thirst for new challenges and perpetual change is more trouble than it’s worth.
Inspector Delicado has been chained to a tiresome desk job in the documentation department of the Barcelona police force for months. But things are about to change. The department is short-handed and there’s a serial rapist on the loose. Delicado is partnered with the portly and impossibly compliant Sergeant Fermín Garzón with orders to solve the case before it succeeds in ruining the good name of the Barcelona police force. However, the only lead they have is the rapist’s mysterious signature: a circular mark of unknown origins he leaves on his victims’ forearms. No witnesses, no other leads, and no help from the victims themselves. To further complicate her life, Inspector Delicado is dealing with two ex-husbands, the belittling Hugo and incompetent Pepe.
From the winner of the Feminino Lumen Prize for best female writer in Spain comes this gripping and entertaining book in the Petra Delicado series which was widely enjoyed by Spanish-language readers.
Alicia Gimenez-Bartlett was born in Almansa, Spain, in 1951 and has lived in Barcelona since 1975. Her Petra Delicado series quickly turned her into one of Spain's most popular and best-loved crime writers. In 1997, she was awarded the Femenino Lumen prize for the best female writer in Spain, and in 2006 she received the Baccante literary award.
Praise for Death Rites
“Excellent [...] Delicado's unsparing insights into her own contradictory personality lend human interest as does the by-play between her and the paunchy, middle-aged Garzón. The many plot twists will please readers who like a balance between in-depth characterization and detective work.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Inspector Petra Delicado and her sergeant, Fermin Garzón, a detective combo which somehow ‘fits’ perfectly despite their obvious differences. [...] The mystery is clever and beautifully plotted, but it is in the characters that this novel really excels.”
—Mostly Fiction
“Gimenez-Bartlett masterfully combines a twisting plot with existential questions of life [...] compelling and unpredictable, and wholly realistic.”
—Nina Sankovitch, readallday.org
Praise for the Petra Delicado series
“Alicia Giménez-Bartlett won the Femenino Lumen prize as best female writer in Spain, and Dog Day, the first book in her ongoing series about Bercelona police Inspector Petra Delicado and her partner Sgt. Fermin Garzón, shows why. Delicado is tough, funny and sexy; Garzón is softer and more sentimental, but as stalwart as a large tree when things get rough.”
—Dick Adler, The Chicago Tribune
“Barcelona police Inspector Petra Delicado and paunchy, fifty-something Sgt. Fermin Garzón prove to be one of the more engaging sleuth teams to debut in a long time.”
—Rosemary Herbert, The Washington Post
“Is there anything quite as satisfying to the mystery lover as discovering a pair of made-for-each-other police partners in a new book? Alicia Giménez-Bartlett gives us...cause for appreciation.”
—Marietta Dunn, The Philadelphia Inquirer
“American readers will welcome Giménez-Bartlett's detective duo of Insp. Petra Delicado and Sgt. Fermín Garzón in this sharply honed tale of dog trafficking in Barcelona...a dark, distinctive and surprisingly funny novel.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In Caistor’s fluent translation, veteran Giménez-Bartlett reveals all the casual brutality of her world and its surprising capacity for compassion.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Excellent [...] Delicado's unsparing insights into her own contradictory personality lend human interest as does the by-play between her and the paunchy, middle-aged Garzón. The many plot twists will please readers who like a balance between in-depth characterization and detective work.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Inspector Petra Delicado and her sergeant, Fermin Garzón, a detective combo which somehow ‘fits’ perfectly despite their obvious differences. [...] The mystery is clever and beautifully plotted, but it is in the characters that this novel really excels.”
—Mostly Fiction
“Gimenez-Bartlett masterfully combines a twisting plot with existential questions of life [...] compelling and unpredictable, and wholly realistic.”
—Nina Sankovitch, readallday.org
Praise for the Petra Delicado series
“Alicia Giménez-Bartlett won the Femenino Lumen prize as best female writer in Spain, and Dog Day, the first book in her ongoing series about Bercelona police Inspector Petra Delicado and her partner Sgt. Fermin Garzón, shows why. Delicado is tough, funny and sexy; Garzón is softer and more sentimental, but as stalwart as a large tree when things get rough.”
—Dick Adler, The Chicago Tribune
“Barcelona police Inspector Petra Delicado and paunchy, fifty-something Sgt. Fermin Garzón prove to be one of the more engaging sleuth teams to debut in a long time.”
—Rosemary Herbert, The Washington Post
“Is there anything quite as satisfying to the mystery lover as discovering a pair of made-for-each-other police partners in a new book? Alicia Giménez-Bartlett gives us...cause for appreciation.”
—Marietta Dunn, The Philadelphia Inquirer
“American readers will welcome Giménez-Bartlett's detective duo of Insp. Petra Delicado and Sgt. Fermín Garzón in this sharply honed tale of dog trafficking in Barcelona...a dark, distinctive and surprisingly funny novel.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In Caistor’s fluent translation, veteran Giménez-Bartlett reveals all the casual brutality of her world and its surprising capacity for compassion.”
—Kirkus Reviews