Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Mala Vida
Marc Fernandez
Review by Priscilla Comen
Mala Vida
Marc Fernandez
Review by Priscilla Comen
Mala Vida, by Marc Fernandez, is the story Diego Martin, a the last liberal announcer on Uno Radio station in Spain. Franco is dead, and elections have been held, although the opposing party who won are Franco cronies. Martin and his friend, Judge Ponce, meet once a month at a restaurant near Martin’s house. It is now an upscale neighborhood of boutiques filled with tourists from all over.
This night the two talk about the councilman shot the night of the election. There are no clues and articles in newspapers have stopped. But Diego Martin plans to open it up on the radio show. They are joined by Ana Duran, Diego’s friend of many years. She started as a hooker, a transsexual, and earned a small fortune. Now, having quit that job, she’s a private detective with her own agency.
Ninety-year-old Don Pedro De la Vegas, is a former member of Franco’s inner circle. He is next on the hit list. He is shot in the head as he drives his car from the parking lot. We don’t know who shot him. Author Fernandez flashes back to when Diego’s wife Caroline was shot and killed because of his investigation into Mexican drug cartels. He never forgave himself, even five years later.
Isobel Ferrer is a stunning lawyer from Paris who moves to Madrid. She calls a press conference to announce the formation of a group to bring justice to the criminals who stole babies from leftist parents. This is a government scandal during and after Franco’s reign. She is helping to launch the National Association of Stolen Babies, NASB.
Meanwhile, the unknown woman who shot Don Pedro De la Vegas is on a train to Barcelona with the gun. She is now blond, in jeans and tennis shoes. Isobel plans to kill doctor Ramirez. After she shoots him, she texts her grandmother: “3”/. At the office of the NASB a hacker has written “Long Live Franco.” The journalists want an interview with Isobel Ferrer. She has disappeared. When she reappears, she removes her wig and directs the office managers back to work. Ana comes to see her, Diego goes to the library to do research He is excited about the interview he will do with Ferrer. Diego finds a manila envelope under his door filled with documents regarding sold babies, birth certificates, death certificates, and a plane ticket to Paris. In Paris, he meets an old woman, Isobel’s grandmother. She tells him her story. He records every word, and promises to broadcast it on his show.
A nun is murdered in Valencia, where Isobel had journeyed. Was the nun involved in the baby crisis? Will justice be done on the part of the parents who lost their babies many years before? The Spanish government feels threatened. Old scars are opened. What will happen to Isobel Ferrer? And to Diego Martin and his radio program? Find out the answers in this historical novel on the new mystery shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.
This night the two talk about the councilman shot the night of the election. There are no clues and articles in newspapers have stopped. But Diego Martin plans to open it up on the radio show. They are joined by Ana Duran, Diego’s friend of many years. She started as a hooker, a transsexual, and earned a small fortune. Now, having quit that job, she’s a private detective with her own agency.
Ninety-year-old Don Pedro De la Vegas, is a former member of Franco’s inner circle. He is next on the hit list. He is shot in the head as he drives his car from the parking lot. We don’t know who shot him. Author Fernandez flashes back to when Diego’s wife Caroline was shot and killed because of his investigation into Mexican drug cartels. He never forgave himself, even five years later.
Isobel Ferrer is a stunning lawyer from Paris who moves to Madrid. She calls a press conference to announce the formation of a group to bring justice to the criminals who stole babies from leftist parents. This is a government scandal during and after Franco’s reign. She is helping to launch the National Association of Stolen Babies, NASB.
Meanwhile, the unknown woman who shot Don Pedro De la Vegas is on a train to Barcelona with the gun. She is now blond, in jeans and tennis shoes. Isobel plans to kill doctor Ramirez. After she shoots him, she texts her grandmother: “3”/. At the office of the NASB a hacker has written “Long Live Franco.” The journalists want an interview with Isobel Ferrer. She has disappeared. When she reappears, she removes her wig and directs the office managers back to work. Ana comes to see her, Diego goes to the library to do research He is excited about the interview he will do with Ferrer. Diego finds a manila envelope under his door filled with documents regarding sold babies, birth certificates, death certificates, and a plane ticket to Paris. In Paris, he meets an old woman, Isobel’s grandmother. She tells him her story. He records every word, and promises to broadcast it on his show.
A nun is murdered in Valencia, where Isobel had journeyed. Was the nun involved in the baby crisis? Will justice be done on the part of the parents who lost their babies many years before? The Spanish government feels threatened. Old scars are opened. What will happen to Isobel Ferrer? And to Diego Martin and his radio program? Find out the answers in this historical novel on the new mystery shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.