A MILLION DROPS

A mystery on an epic scale, extending over decades, generations, and nations as it attempts to illuminate the deepest mystery of all—the evil within the human soul.

In the latest from Spanish author del Árbol (The Sadness of the Samurai, 2012, etc.), Gonzalo Gil, a Barcelona lawyer of little distinction, learns that his long-estranged sister, Laura, has committed suicide shortly after hearing that she would soon be charged with murder. A Russian thug had kidnapped and killed her son, and she, in turn, had hunted down and killed the Russian. Or so suggests all the circumstantial evidence, though those closest to Laura insist she couldn’t have done it. So, with a little prodding, Gonzalo resolves to have the case reopened and finds himself entangled in decades of mystery concerning his father, a hero in the resistance against Franco—a man he revered more than remembered—and the shadowy circumstances surrounding his death. Gonzalo was only 5 when his father disappeared, a time when his sister was his great love and protector. One strand of the narrative traces Gonzalo's progress on the case of his sister and the murder of her son. The other shows the reality of his father’s life, so different from the legend that cast such a long shadow over his son. What had his father suffered? What had he become? In the course of his investigation, Gonzalo will discover just who his father was, why his sister split from the rest of the family, and how the Russians wove their web for decades to ensnare them all.

Meticulously plotted and stylishly written, this is a page-turner with fresh twists and surprises right up to the very end.