Dark, thought provoking, yet light hearted in places, ‘Sophie is Still Missing’ is an intricate crime mystery which delves into the shadowy world of the Costa del Sol, people trafficking and modern slavery. Jacaranda Dunn is an ex-Metropolitan police officer who has moved to Spain to open a detective agency in Málaga. JD to her friends and colleagues, she is tough, resilient, manipulative and brave and her love life is complicated. She is having an on-off relationship with Federico, a captain in the Guardia Civil, who loves her but feels she is just using him in order to have access to police resources. Tim, a local reporter, is constantly inviting her to go out with him, and Jacobo, who makes television documentaries, is an ex-lover who is still her best friend. But JD is haunted by the death of her husband five years previously, and won’t consider a permanent relationship with anyone until she discovers who was behind his brutal stabbing. She also has another worry; Thomas Steed, a drug dealer sentenced to fourteen years in a maximum security prison as a result of her testimony, has been given early release. The last words she’d heard him say were a public threat to her safety. At first the work of the agency is fairly routine, missing dogs, stolen passports, unfaithful husbands. Then one day a woman comes into the agency and wants JD to find her missing daughter.
Genre: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / International Mystery & CrimeNew publication
The old man unlocked the heavy wooden doors to the Brotherhood to which he’d belonged for most of his life. Jorge was wearing the clothes they always wore for the Holy Week processions: his best black cloak over a simple twill tunic tied at the waist with a belt of esparto. His capirote was tucked into his belt ready; he would pull that over his head once they were about to start. He sighed as he remembered that this was the last time he would be taking part in the procession, and a feeling of sadness overwhelmed him as he put his shoulder to the massive door and pushed it open. The heady smell of carnations came out to greet him as he stepped inside their gloomy headquarters. This year he had been honoured for his long years of devotion by being chosen to carry the Guiding Cross and lead the Brotherhood of the Virgin of Remorse on their slow, twelve-hour walk through the streets of Málaga. He hoped his gammy knee wouldn’t let him down.
‘Come on Jorge. Get a move on,’ said one of the Brothers; it was Felipe, a young man who worked as a solicitor. Behind him were almost two hundred of the Brotherhood, all dressed in their traditional robes and some even had their capirotes already covering their faces. It was a special day for them all. The Virgin of Remorse only ventured out on this one day a year, and the men had been preparing for it for months. It was the moment when they could forget their humdrum lives as waiters or bank clerks, teachers or builders; this was when they could rise above it and carry the Virgin through the streets for everyone to see, the faithful and tourists alike.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Mariana Magalhães
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Author review: Good work, on time and easy to communicate with. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Eva Romero Lozano
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Author review: Eva consistently produces a good clear translation. |
