A Dead Man in Barcelona (Seymour of Special Branch, #5)

Barcelona in 1912 is a city still recovering from the dramatic incidents of the so-called 'Tragic Week' when Catalonian conscripts bound for the unpopular war in Spanish Morocco had rebelled at the city's dockside against the royalist forces. In the fighting, many were killed, and afterwards, even more put in prison. Including an Englishman, who was later found dead in his cell. The dead man had been a prominent businessman in Gibraltar, so what had he been doing in Barcelona? What part did he play in the illicit three-way trade between Gibraltar, Spanish Morocco and Barcelona? And just how did he really meet his end - murdered, in a prison cell? The case, in Gibraltar's view, cries out for investigation - and by someone independent of the Spanish authorities. So Scotland Yard are summoned to send out one of their men - but who? Seymour ticks all the right boxes - he has experience of the tangled diplomatic world of that part of the Mediterranean. He speaks foreign languages. And possibly most importantly of all - he grew up near the docks of London's East End so with any luck, knows how to swim if pushed in the water. Publishers Weekly Pearce's solid fifth pre-WWI historical to feature Sandor Seymour of Special Branch (after 2007's A Dead Man in Tangier ) takes the Scotland Yard detective to Barcelona, Spain, to crack a two-year-old cold case-the death, while in a Spanish prison, of an English businessman, Sam Lockhart. Lockhart was arrested during the bloody riots that erupted in Barcelona in 1910 after reserve troops refused orders to serve in Spanish Morocco. Seymour's assignment enables him to reunite with Chantale de Lissac, his half-Arab, half-French romantic interest, who uses her people skills to help him learn more about the hidden personal and political passions that may have led to Lockhart's murder. As usual, Pearce is more concerned with-and more successful at-bringing his chosen milieu to life than stumping the reader with a puzzle. Fans of the author's Gareth Owen series ( The Mark of the Pasha , etc.) will note similarities between Chantale and Owen's independent-minded Egyptian girlfriend-turned-wife. (Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Praise for the Dead Man series: “Picking up a new book by Michael Pearce reminds you why people enjoy reading mysteries.”—Denver Post “The steady pace, atmospheric design, and detailed description re-create a complicated city. A recommended historical series.”—Library Journal “Sheer fun.”—The Times (London) “An unfailingly amusing historical series.”—Booklist “Pearce again demonstrates his skill at making the past come alive and at seamlessly weaving actual political intrigues into his plot.”—Publishers Weekly Barcelona, 1912—a city still recovering from the dramatic incidents of the so-called “Tragic Week” when Catalonian conscripts bound for the unpopular war in Spanish Morocco had rebelled at the city's dockside against the royalist forces. In the fighting, many were killed, and afterward, even more imprisoned, including an Englishman, who was later found dead in his cell. The dead man had been a prominent businessman in Gibraltar, so what was he doing in Barcelona? And how did he really meet his end—murdered, in a prison cell? The case, in Gibraltar's view, cries out for investigation—and by someone independent of the Spanish authorities. So Scotland Yard dispatches Seymour of the Special Branch. Michael Pearce was raised in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He trained as a Russian interpreter but later moved to an academic career, first as a lecturer in English and the History of Ideas and then as an administrator. Pearce now lives in southwest London and is best known as the author of the award-winning Mamur Zapt books.From the Hardcover edition. Praise for the Dead Man Picking up a new book by Michael Pearce reminds you why people enjoy reading mysteries. Denver Post The steady pace, atmospheric design, and detailed description re-create a complicated city. A recommended historical series. Library Journal Sheer fun. The Times (London) An unfailingly amusing historical series. Booklist Pearce again demonstrates his skill at making the past come alive and at seamlessly weaving actual political intrigues into his plot. Publishers Weekly Barcelona, 1912a city still recovering from the dramatic incidents of the so-called Tragic Week when Catalonian conscripts bound for the unpopular war in Spanish Morocco had rebelled at the citys dockside against the royalist forces. In the fighting, many were killed, and afterward, even more imprisoned, including an Englishman, who was later found dead in his cell. The dead man had been a prominent businessman in Gibraltar, so what was he doing in Barcelona? And how did he really meet his endmurdered, in a prison cell? The case, in Gibraltars view, cries out for investigationand by someone independent of the Spanish authorities. So Scotland Yard dispatches Seymour of the Special Branch. Michael Pearce was raised in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He trained as a Russian interpreter but later moved to an academic career, first as a lecturer in English and the History of Ideas and then as an administrator. Pearce now lives in southwest London and is best known as the author of the award-winning Mamur Zapt books. "Barcelona in 1912 is a city still recovering from the dramatic incidents of the so-called 'Tragic Week' when Catalonian conscripts bound for the unpopular war in Spanish Morocco had rebelled at the city's dockside against the royalist forces. In the fighting, many were killed, and afterwards, even more put in prison. Including an Englishman, who was later found dead in his cell." "The dead man had been a prominent businessman in Gibraltar, so what had he been doing in Barcelona? What part did he play in the illicit three-way trade between Gibraltar, Spanish Morocco and Barcelona? And just how did he really meet his end - murdered, in a prison cell?" "The case, in Gibraltar's view, cries out for investigation - and by someone independent of the Spanish authorities. So Scotland Yard are summoned to send out one of their men - but who? Seymour ticks all the right boxes - he has experience of the tangled diplomatic world of that part of the Mediterranean. He speaks foreign languages. And possibly most importantly of all - he grew up near the docks of London's East End so with any luck, knows how to swim if pushed in the water."--Jacket Barcelona, 1912: a city is still recovering from the incidents of the so-called 'Tragic Week' when Catalonian conscripts bound for the war in Spanish Morocco rebel at the city's dockside against the royalist forces. In the fighting, many are killed, and afterwards, even more put in prison; including a Englishman later found dead in his cell. Seymour, an agent of Scotland Yard, must watch out for his own life when he is sent to Barcelona in 1912 to investigate the murder of a prominent English businessman who was found dead in his jail cell after being incarcerated in the wake of the rebellion of Catalan conscripts against royalist forces.