La novia gitana - Carmen Mola

With more than a million copies sold, translated into 15 languages (but not English), La novia gitana is the first in a series of thrillers featuring inspector Elena Blanco. Initially the author Carmen Mola was considered a pseudonym for an author who wanted to remain out of the picture and avoid publicity, a sort of Elena Ferrante, but while it is indeed a pseudonym, Carmen Mola is actually a collaboration between three writers, none of them female. However they choose to work, there is no denying the success of the series and the reasons for this success are not hard to discern in this first book made up of short sharp chapters, spiky characters and a bizarre murder mystery, but that's only the start of it.

The gypsy bride of the title is Susana Macaya. She is murdered two weeks before her wedding in the most shocking and macabre manner while sensibly returning home from her hen party in Madrid just before it all got out of control. She has been killed by someone who drilled three holes into her skull and inserted maggots to eat her brain in a slow and horrific death. That might be enough of a reason to involve Inspector Elena Blanco and her specialist murder investigation team BAC (Brigada de Análysis de Casos, Case Analysis Brigade), but there are a few more unusual elements. One is that a young woman was killed in the same method seven years ago, another is that her killer is supposedly currently in prison and, since the details of the killing haven't been made known it's hardly a copy-cat killing. Strangest of all perhaps is the fact that the previous victim was the sister of Susana Macaya, Lara, also killed just before her wedding.

Suspicions of course initially turn to the man she was going to marry, not least because his behaviour and response to the killing is suspicious and he is lying about his alibi. There is also clearly a complicated family situation in Susana's father Moisés' marriage to a wife not of the gypsy line and the fact that his daughters refused to abide by gypsy traditions and that both were going to marry 'payas', non-gypsy husbands. Despite the Macaya family having adapted to ordinary society, forging a successful business in wedding and event planning, there remains suspected dealings in the wider family circle with criminal gangs. There's enough there for a decent thriller, but since you have three hands working on this (more if any of them are ambidextrous or typing, I suppose), there are a few other threads and characters you can bring into this. 

Most evidently, there is an earlier investigation that has put a man in prison that now needs to be re-opened. That is something Ángel Zárate wants to pursue, or perhaps put barriers in the way of any pursuit. Having had the murder case taken away from him by the BAC, only to be welcomed as a temporary recruit into Elena Blanco's confidence (and bed), he has conflicting interests in the case as it was his friend and mentor who investigated the earlier killing of Susana's sister. There are lines to be followed up there, but Salvador Santos is in early stages of Alzheimer's now and may not be of much help. There is also another thread, the inevitable all-in-italics section, detailing a young boy discovering he is locked in a cellar with a dead dog. So definitely plenty to be getting on with.

Elena Blanco then appears to be the least original element of this story and the efforts to make her 'interesting' are superficial and laughable. She drives a Lada, loves grappa, is a regular at her karaoke bar where she sings Italian songs and she enjoys having uncomplicated sex with strangers in SUVs. She also has a luxury apartment overlooking the exclusive Plaza Mayor in Madrid, her wealth seemingly inherited rather than being on a police inspector wage. There she has a camera installed looking out for one particular person who is bound to appear there sooner or later. It's the Plaza Mayor after all. Clearly there is an underlying issue here, but it still feels a little obligatory, a way of establishing a tormented character that accounts for her some of her behaviours and actions.

Which is not really all that necessary as she seems to be a stickler for working by the book, but putting her personal lifestyle choices aside there is more than enough to be getting on with in the bizarre murder cases of the gypsy bride and her sister. Despite the BAC being rather slow to find any substantial lead, there is enough to keep the reader hooked between the gradual revelations and there are good secondary characters and conflicts of interest in Blanco’s team to provide plenty of drama. Despite initial scepticism, the writing, characterisation and plotting are strong and I found La novia gitana to be the kind of book that when you put it down, you can't wait to pick it back up and see where it takes you next. I don't think it's wholly the intrigue that keeps you going, I'm not sure the characters are all that compelling, but something about the writing and the flow of the drama works really well. Most critically, it sustains any sense of engagement without throwing in too many elements of behaviours that seem wilfully bizarre or too conventional and brings it to a satisfying conclusion with enough of a hook to bring you back for the next in the series.  

Reading notes. La novia gitana (The Gypsy Bride) by Carmen Mola was originally published in Spain in 2018. I read the Spanish language Debolsillo paperback, 16th reprint, 2023. It's a nice size paperback with dust jacket, not a pocket edition, which personally adds to the reading pleasure on this occasion. I wasn't sure initially that this was going to work for me but three-quarters of the way through the book I had already placed orders in for paperback copies of La red púrpura and La nena. The revelations about the content of La red púrpura and the dark web at the end of La novia gitana might make me regret that decision, but that would be a matter of the dark subject matter and not any reflection on the quality of the writing or the potential of the series.