A Shortcut to Paradise

Praise for Teresa Solana:

"Solana's excellent novel, set in the streets and parlors of Barcelona, offers both probing social commentary and an excellent crime story."—Booklist

"Solana's sparkling novel pokes sharp fun at Catalan politics, society and pretensions. The brothers bumble and stumble to the truth and hopefully to further adventures."—Publishers Weekly

Marina Dolç, media figure and writer of bestsellers, is murdered in at the Ritz in Barcelona on the night she wins an important literary prize. The killer has battered her to death with the trophy she has just won. The detective twins Borja and Eduard are plunged into the murky waters of the bookish Barcelona scene and need all their wit and skills of improvisation to solve this case of truncated literary lives.

As in A Not So Perfect Crime, Teresa Solana combines humor and roman noir in a critical portrait of contemporary society, in this case with writers as the protagonists. The murder trail leads to the most unlikely places in hilarious scenes worthy of Tom Sharpe, whether in the sausage-making town of Vic, the packed cells of the notorious Modelo prison, or a literary party where guests get high on loaded canapés.

Teresa Solana lives in Barcelona. Born in 1962, she studied philosophy and worked as a literary translator and essayist. She has written several novels kept quietly in her drawer. A Not So Perfect Crime, her first published title, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the best Catalan mystery novel.