The monster

Author's name: Carmen Molla

A cholera epidemic isn't the only thing terrifying the people of Madrid in 1834. Outside the city walls, the mutilated bodies of young girls are turning up. Rumors speak of a feared "monster," although no one has actually seen it, either inside or outside the capital. When little Clara disappears, her sister Lucía sets off on a frantic race to find her. Her path crosses with the inquisitive journalist Diego, the one-eyed policeman Donoso, and the friar Braulio. They all stumble upon something that turns their lives upside down: a mysterious golden ring bearing two crossed hammers, a purpose for which some would kill. With stunning skill, Carmen Mola weaves the threads of this shocking and wild work, with its cruelty, darkness, and hellish edge, to deliver one of the best historical thrillers written in Spanish in recent years.