Siruela 2014

«Autor perdurable.»
Sergi Doria, Revista de Libros

Pablo is a small-time criminal, a dealer with certain scientific and poetic interests. One September morning, he receives an email from his accomplice and friend Ángel Bru—with whom he had planned, but ultimately aborted, a robbery at a roadside brothel—summoning him to an abandoned warehouse in an industrial park.

Upon arriving, he discovers Ángel’s body with a gunshot to the forehead. Pablo returns home in shock, and when he decides to reopen his email account, he is confronted by a new message that begins with two devastating lines: “I’m dead, I know it. You put a bullet in my head this morning.”

Thus begins Rafael Balanzá’s new novel, a thrilling noir tale interwoven with eroticism and dark emotions; a story of a feverish search for escape that teeters between the desire to flee one’s fate and the equally urgent need to decipher it.

All of this unfolds in a universe governed by the fundamental rule that “the dead cannot warn the living of anything.”

“An explosive plot (…) a fascinating novel.”
Luis Alberto de Cuenca, RNE

“I knew nothing of Alicante-born Rafael Balanzá until the pleasant discovery of Recado de un muerto (…) a shrewd look at the world.”
Santos Sanz de Villanueva, El Cultural de El Mundo

“Perfectly structured (…) surprising final pages.”
S. Fernández-Prieto, La Razón

“Those brave enough to read it will find an enigmatic reward.”
Adolfo Caparrós, Análisis Digital

“One of the most original and prestigious writers in the national context (…) a consummate master of endings. Not a loose end in sight.”
José Belmonte, La Verdad

“A well-planned game (…) like a chess match in the hands of a daring champion.”
Ramón Jiménez Madrid, La Opinión

“Enjoy the best Spanish author of psychological horror.”
Pepe Rodríguez, El placer de la lectura