Review | Whilst in Spain Read About Spain

I love reading a book about the country I'm visiting so if you're visiting Spain then here are three great books I can strongly recommend to you.

Queen of the South is a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and is a brilliant, contemporary novel about a poor Mexican narco's morra who flees Mexico on her boyfriend's murder, to Spain and eventually high society Marbella, via the Spanish enclave of Melilla. This story is based in Andalucia, with Morocco, Algeciras, Gibraltar, Sotogrande, Marbella and Sevilla all featuring. The story focuses on the rise and rise of the novel's anti-hero Teresa Mendoza and the world of drug smuggling, as told by an anonymous Spanish journalist who is researching a book on her life. Read review here or purchase online from Amazon.

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a magical story based in mid-century, Barcelona and begins with the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind.
Read review here or purchase online from Amazon.

Winter in Madrid by CJ Samson is set in Spain, September 1940. The Spanish Civil War is over and Madrid lies in ruins while the Germans continue their march through Europe. Britain stands alone as General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. The story centres around three British men in Spain, one a reluctant spy, the other a shady businessman and the third a passionate communist who joins the International Brigade. This novel is a wartime thriller involving espionage, plus provides an historical window of an important time in Spanish history.
Read review here or purchase online from Amazon.