Don’t miss the latest Spanish fiction releases in the United States.

Jorge Eduardo Benavides El enigma del convento (The Mystery of the Convent) ISBN: 9788420417530 488 pp TP $24.99 BISAC: FICTION / General - Historical Trim size: 6” x 9½” 1814. After demonstrating his loyalty to Fernando by fighting against the pro-independence colonists in the Americas, General Goyeneche is called to the Spanish Court to help the monarchy fight the liberal movement that is trying to reinstate the Constitution of Cádiz. But in these tumultuous times, everything moves along the fine line that separates loyalty from treason, and anyone can be accused of conspiring against the king. Because of that, the general embarks on a journey to recover compromising papers that are hidden in Peru, and which put his reputation, his fortune, and his life at risk. With admirable use of suspense, Jorge Eduardo Benavides constructs a novel full of intrigue, which has at its epicenter the Convent of Santa Catalina, in Arequipa, Perú. In its walls are important documents that could compromise the lives of all who appear in them. Only when evil breaks into the tranquil grounds of the convent, it will be necessary to keep safe the secrets that have been kept for centuries. This novel was awarded with the 25th Torrente Ballester Prize from the Council of A Coruña.     Tomás Eloy Martínez Tinieblas para mirar (Shadows for Seeing) ISBN: 9786071134318 168 pp. TP $16.99 BISAC: FICTION / Short Stories (single author Trim size: 6” x 9½” “I have traveled a lot, or on the other hand, I’m still traveling, and I haven’t managed to get comfortable anywhere other than this setting of what is not here, what I don’t have, what I can’t be.” Written over the course of more than half a century, the stories told here—a good part of which never before published—constitute a synthesis of Tomás Eloy Martínez’s talent and of the subjects that followed him throughout his life: the upheavals in Argentinean life, Peronism and its symbols, exile, sexuality, and death. A failed attempt at switching famous cadavers—those of Evita and Aramburu—with the help of a tanker truck as a vehicle and shelter; the life of a woman who performs choreography every day in a New York train station; the ironic resemblance of a prodigious child destroyed by a possessive mother; the confrontation between the army and some workers in the outskirts of the city of Tucumán shortly after 1955; the legendary adventures of two thieves in the ‘30s… these are just some of the tales contained herein.  These stories shine due to their absolute timelessness, as they confirm the literary depth of an important author.     Javier Marías Así empieza lo malo (Thus Bad Begins) ISBN: 9786071134462 536 pp. TP $24.99 BISAC: FICTION / General  Trim size: 6” x 9½” “The story didn’t happen that long ago, yet today it would be impossible. I’m talking about what happened to them, to Eduardo Muriel and his wife, Beatriz Noguera, when they were young, and not about what happened to me with them, when I was the youth and their marriage a long and unbreakable misfortune.” This is the beginning of Thus Bad Begins, “a story of intimate life, like those that aren’t usually told or are only told in whispers,” recalled by one who witnessed it in his youth, Juan de Vere, while working for a former successful movie director. That job allowed him to see the strange, unbalanced state of Muriel’s marriage, as well as its mysterious past. In the excited Madrid of 1980, Muriel asks young De Vere to investigate an old friend of his, Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, whose indecent behavior in the past has caused rumors. But Juan doesn’t stop there, and takes questionable initiatives. Thus he discovers that there is no selfless justice; it is always contaminated by personal resentment, and that all forgiveness or punishment is abritrary.     Ernestina Sodi Miranda Los cerezos negros (The Black Cherry Trees) ISBN: 9786071135315 336 pp TP $19.99 BISAC: FICTION / Crime - Contemporary Women Trim size: 6” x 9½” This novel reveals one of the most raw problems today: human trafficking and the networks of crime, corruption, extortion, and kidnapping that revolve around them. Aurora and Verónica, the protagonists, are young cousins, excited to start successful modeling careers. When they get to an agency to leave their photos, it seems like an amazing opportunity has opened up for them, one that is impossible to pass up. To follow their dream, they are to travel to Japan, where models of Latin origin are highly favored. Upon arriving in the country, they make the terrifying discovery that they have been victims of a scam. Now, like slaves, they belong to the Yakuza, the mafia that controls the business of drugs, arms, kidnapping, prostitution, and underground bars. Under threats, the young women are obliged to make their families believe that they are successfully breaking into the glamorous world of fashion, while they are living in hell. They must discover the way to escape and leave this nightmare behind.     Marcelo Figueras El rey de los espinos (The King of the Hawthorns) ISBN: 9788483656259 840 pp. TP $29.99 BISAC: FICTION / Fantasy / Contemporary - Thrillers / Suspense  Trim size: 6” x 9½” What if comic book characters came to life?  And what if they couldn’t go back? A famous comic book author is murdered in the violent Buenos Aires of 2019. His burial is attended by family, fans, the press, and infamous secret police, called OFAC. And also someone else… four strangely-dressed men: a medieval knight, a pirate from the Opium Wars, a Hell’s Angels motorcyclist, and an explorer from the Wild West. Nobody seems to notice them but Milo, who works at the cemetery. Are these four men heroes from the dead man’s comics, as improbable as it seems? Milo suspects that their appearance is linked to a mystery: that of the storyteller’s daughters, whose whereabouts are unknown. With unabashed, agile prose, Marcelo Figueras crosses the most fantasy-filled genres with our ruthless reality. And while the pages of the book fly, Milo and the Globetrotter Guild come closer to a clash with the OFAC: a battle that will give rise to new legends. The novel includes ten illustrations by Riki Blanco.     Sandra Barneda La tierra de las mujeres (The Women’s Land) ISBN: 9788483657751 552 pp. TP $19.99 BISAC: FICTION / Contemporary Women - Thrillers / Suspense  Trim size: 6” x 9½” Is everything in life already decided? Can we change our destiny by breaking with our past? What would you do if you discovered your whole life was a lie? Gala Marlborough travels with her two daughters, Kate and Adele, to the small town of Ampurdán with the sole intention of receiving an inheritance from an unknown family member and then getting back to her life in New York as quickly as possible. She is unaware that this decision will set into action a perfect, subtle, and precise series of events that will unearth buried lies and family secrets, and heal souls that were lost in pain and bitterness. What was supposed to be a casual tourist trip takes a sharp turn towards self-discovery when they receive a strange invitation: the opportunity to participate in the “Women’s Circle.”     Pablo Simonetti Jardín (Garden) ISBN: 9789563478020 216 pp TP $16.99 BISAC: FICTION / General  Trim size: 6” x 9½” After receiving a million-dollar offer for her house, 76-year-old widow Luisa Barbaglia faces a decision that will have unexpected consequences. Each of her three children has a very different perspective about what it would mean for her to leave the home that she shared for over 40 years with her husband, the memories that it brings, and above all, her garden: the pride and joy of her life.     Joakim Zander El nadador (The Swimmer) ISBN: 9786071133984 168 pp. TP $22.99 BISAC: FICTION / Thrillers / General  Trim size: 6” x 9½” A deep-cover CIA agent races across Europe to save the daughter he never knew in this electrifying debut thriller—an international sensation billed as “Homeland meets Stieg Larsson” that heralds the arrival of a new master sure to follow in the footsteps of Stieg Larsson, John Le Carré, and Graham Greene. In the end, you cannot hide who you are.