Spanish Beauty
Esther García Llovet and Richard Village (translator)
Spanish Beauty by Esther García Llovet is a surreal, anarchic noir romp set against the backdrop of the capital of mass tourism, Benidorm. Half-English, half-Spanish protagonist Michela is a badass cop who acts on the wrong side of the law and is on a mission to get her hands on Reggie Kray’s Dunhill lighter. With a supporting cast of hapless petty criminals, Russian crime bosses and an absent father figure, the book goes on a whirlwind tour beyond the fry-ups and sangria to the seedy underbelly of the Pearl of the Costa Blanca.
Spanish Beauty is a noir novel set in the Spanish town of Benidorm—a town notorious both in Spain and the UK as a cheap package holiday destination. The story revolves around Michela, a corrupt cop with a Spanish mother and English gangster father, though neither is on the scene. It’s brilliant at evoking a sense of place—even if that’s a place you will probably never want to go after reading it. An interesting interview about the book with its author, Esther García Llovet, can be found here.
Recommendations from our site
“Spanish Beauty by Esther García Llovet is a surreal, anarchic noir romp set against the backdrop of the capital of mass tourism, Benidorm. Half-English, half-Spanish protagonist Michela is a badass cop who acts on the wrong side of the law and is on a mission to get her hands on Reggie Kray’s Dunhill lighter. With a supporting cast of hapless petty criminals, Russian crime bosses and an absent father figure, the book goes on a whirlwind tour beyond the fry-ups and sangria to the seedy underbelly of the Pearl of the Costa Blanca.” Read more...
Foundry Editions, Publisher
Five Books review