Ebook328 pages
Death of a Nationalist
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this ebook
Winner of the Edgar Award: A “tense and exciting” murder mystery set in the wake of the Spanish Civil War (The Detroit Free Press).
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the Chicago Tribune, and the Detroit Free Press
Madrid 1939. Carlos Tejada Alonso y León is a sergeant in the Guardia Civil, a rank rare for a man not yet thirty, but Tejada is an unusual recruit. The bitter civil war between the Nationalists and the Republicans has interrupted his legal studies in Salamanca. Second son of a conservative Southern family of landowners, he is an enthusiast for the Catholic Franquista cause, a dedicated, and now triumphant, Nationalist.
This war has drawn international attention. In a dress rehearsal for World War II, fascists support the Nationalists, while communists have come to the aid of the Republicans. Atrocities have devastated both sides. It is at this moment, when the Republicans have surrendered and the Guardia Civil has begun to impose order in the ruins of Madrid, that Tejada finds the body of his best friend, a hero of the siege of Toledo, shot to death on a street named Amor de Dios. Naturally, a Red is suspected. And it is easy for Tejada to assume that the woman caught kneeling over the body is the killer. But when his doubts are aroused, he cannot help seeking justice.
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the Chicago Tribune, and the Detroit Free Press
Madrid 1939. Carlos Tejada Alonso y León is a sergeant in the Guardia Civil, a rank rare for a man not yet thirty, but Tejada is an unusual recruit. The bitter civil war between the Nationalists and the Republicans has interrupted his legal studies in Salamanca. Second son of a conservative Southern family of landowners, he is an enthusiast for the Catholic Franquista cause, a dedicated, and now triumphant, Nationalist.
This war has drawn international attention. In a dress rehearsal for World War II, fascists support the Nationalists, while communists have come to the aid of the Republicans. Atrocities have devastated both sides. It is at this moment, when the Republicans have surrendered and the Guardia Civil has begun to impose order in the ruins of Madrid, that Tejada finds the body of his best friend, a hero of the siege of Toledo, shot to death on a street named Amor de Dios. Naturally, a Red is suspected. And it is easy for Tejada to assume that the woman caught kneeling over the body is the killer. But when his doubts are aroused, he cannot help seeking justice.
Author
Rebecca Pawel
Rebecca Pawel lives in New York City and is pursuing a PhD in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Her widely praised first novel, Death of a Nationalist, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, as well as named a Best Book of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, Publishers Weekly, and Detroit Free Press.
Read more from Rebecca Pawel
What Happened When the War Was Over; further stories of Gonzalo Llorente and Carlos Tejada Alonso y Leon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Death of a Nationalist
Rating: 3.7777778095238093 out of 5 stars
4/5
63 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5During the extreme hardships following the Spanish Civil War, the loss of a seven-year-old's school notebook leads to tragedy after she witnesses a murder. The consequences of mistaken assumptions have far-reaching impacts on a small circle of Reds as well as the officials in control. Although it is perhaps unrealistic, the ending offers surprising hope after a series of brutal events.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The first of the all-too-short series featuring Guardia Civil Lt. Carlos Tejada and his "Red" love interest, Elena Fernandez, at the end of the Spanish Civil War. As Carlos tries to reconcile his Fascist politics with his basic integrity, and Elena struggles against her attraction to a man who stands for everything she despises, we see how their relationship develops. Of course, there's a mystery to solve as well and it's a good one.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting novel featuring a Guardia policeman who found another policeman, friend, murdered and decided to find the real killer after he mistakenly shot a woman who was only trying to retrieve a notebook, her young niece had dropped when she saw the corpse. His hatred of the oposing side who he calls Reds gradually is lessened thru the story. The other part is the lover of the woman who was shot by the Guardia wants to find her killer. The lover is allowed to escape by the Guardia He also finds himself attracted to a school teacher, Elena who is a socialist
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent period piece. Not so good as a mystery but there is enough of one for the book to hang together. Well written, good characterization, moves along nicely. The ending does come as a surprise on multiple levels, which is good. Most unusual in that it has a Falangist POV character and manages to make him human and believable. Given the degree to which the world chattering classes are still all on the Republican side this many decades later, that is in and of itself a near miracle. One of the best portrayals of a conquered city I have read.
Book preview
Death of a Nationalist - Rebecca Pawel
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