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Elisenda Domènech Investigations #3
City of Drowned Souls
When a child disappears, the clock starts ticking
Detective Elisenda Domènech has had a tough few years. The loss of her daughter and a team member; the constant battles against colleagues and judges; the harrowing murder investigations… But it’s about to get much worse.
When the son of a controversial local politician goes missing at election time, Elisenda is put on the case. They simply must solve it. Only the team also have to deal with a spate of horrifically violent break-ins. People are being brutalised in their own homes and the public demands answers.
Could there be a connection? Why is nobody giving a straight answer? And where is Elisenda’s key informant, apparently vanished off the face of the earth? With the body count threatening to increase and her place in the force on the line, the waters are rising…
Be careful not to drown.
The stunning new instalment of the gripping Elisenda Domènech crime thrillers for readers of Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri.
Detective Elisenda Domènech has had a tough few years. The loss of her daughter and a team member; the constant battles against colleagues and judges; the harrowing murder investigations… But it’s about to get much worse.
When the son of a controversial local politician goes missing at election time, Elisenda is put on the case. They simply must solve it. Only the team also have to deal with a spate of horrifically violent break-ins. People are being brutalised in their own homes and the public demands answers.
Could there be a connection? Why is nobody giving a straight answer? And where is Elisenda’s key informant, apparently vanished off the face of the earth? With the body count threatening to increase and her place in the force on the line, the waters are rising…
Be careful not to drown.
The stunning new instalment of the gripping Elisenda Domènech crime thrillers for readers of Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2017
12 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Chris Lloyd
6 books42 followersAfter graduating in Spanish and French, I lived in Catalonia, where I worked in educational publishing and as a travel writer and translator. I’ve also lived in Grenoble, researching the French Resistance movement.
The result of my lifelong interest in World War 2 and resistance and collaboration in Occupied France, The Unwanted Dead (Orion) is my first novel set in Paris, featuring Detective Eddie Giral. I’m also the author of the Elisenda Domènech crime series (Canelo), featuring a police officer with the newly-devolved Catalan police force.
The result of my lifelong interest in World War 2 and resistance and collaboration in Occupied France, The Unwanted Dead (Orion) is my first novel set in Paris, featuring Detective Eddie Giral. I’m also the author of the Elisenda Domènech crime series (Canelo), featuring a police officer with the newly-devolved Catalan police force.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2017
I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of City of Drowned Souls, the third Girona based police procedural to feature Sotsinspectora Elisenda Domenéch and her team.
Elisenda and the team are investigating a series of violent robberies when a failed tip off leads to her losing her cool and being suspended on sick leave while she attends therapy to help her deal with the death of her daughter six years previously, something she has never dealt with. Her leave, however, is cancelled when the son of an unpopular local politician goes missing, four years after the disappearance and presumed death of his brother.
Mr Lloyd throws the kitchen sink at this novel with false leads and theories including fraud, Catalan politics, corruption and Opus Dei, all of it interesting but mostly irrelevant to both plot lines. Add in the tourist's guide to Girona and its history, again interesting but irrelevant, and you get a fairly slow moving investigation with a surge at the end.
I like Elisenda and her team. They are motivated and generally work well together but there are little niggles between them which add a certain reality to their interactions. The novel focuses on Elisenda and her personal problems. She sees and hears her daughter at odd moments and her colleagues believe this is starting to affect her judgement, hence the enforced therapy, but, apart from a tendency to say exactly what she thinks, I don't see it and think she runs a good investigation with the limited resources available. I do like her brazenness in saying exactly what she thinks and she makes some good points.
Within all the padding there is a clever plot with a good twist at the end. For those who don't like them there is a cliffhanger in an italicised epilogue so it's easy to skip. I also liked the fact in this novel, contrary to my normal views, that all the loose ends aren't tied up nicely in a bow. It gives the novel a healthy dose of the realities of policing.
I think 3.5* is a fair assessment of City Of Drowned Souls as a crime novel but as I can't give that rating I've rounded it up to 4 for making me want to visit Girona - it sounds lovely.
Elisenda and the team are investigating a series of violent robberies when a failed tip off leads to her losing her cool and being suspended on sick leave while she attends therapy to help her deal with the death of her daughter six years previously, something she has never dealt with. Her leave, however, is cancelled when the son of an unpopular local politician goes missing, four years after the disappearance and presumed death of his brother.
Mr Lloyd throws the kitchen sink at this novel with false leads and theories including fraud, Catalan politics, corruption and Opus Dei, all of it interesting but mostly irrelevant to both plot lines. Add in the tourist's guide to Girona and its history, again interesting but irrelevant, and you get a fairly slow moving investigation with a surge at the end.
I like Elisenda and her team. They are motivated and generally work well together but there are little niggles between them which add a certain reality to their interactions. The novel focuses on Elisenda and her personal problems. She sees and hears her daughter at odd moments and her colleagues believe this is starting to affect her judgement, hence the enforced therapy, but, apart from a tendency to say exactly what she thinks, I don't see it and think she runs a good investigation with the limited resources available. I do like her brazenness in saying exactly what she thinks and she makes some good points.
Within all the padding there is a clever plot with a good twist at the end. For those who don't like them there is a cliffhanger in an italicised epilogue so it's easy to skip. I also liked the fact in this novel, contrary to my normal views, that all the loose ends aren't tied up nicely in a bow. It gives the novel a healthy dose of the realities of policing.
I think 3.5* is a fair assessment of City Of Drowned Souls as a crime novel but as I can't give that rating I've rounded it up to 4 for making me want to visit Girona - it sounds lovely.
February 15, 2017
My first introduction to the Elisenda Domènech books by Chris Lloyd and I am in a pretty happy place. I have a new series of books I can look forward to reading and (very importantly) beginning the series with this, the 3rd book, has not been a confusing or spoiler-filled affair.
There was loads going on in City of Drowned Souls so it was a richly rewarding read. Elisenda is investigating a series of violent burglaries when a tip-off which could have broken the case falls through. Tempers flare and to keep her position Elisenda has to attend therapist sessions - her colleagues fearing she is not contending well with the death of her daughter some years earlier.
Elsewhere the child of a local politician disappears. The family reaction is not typical but with an election just days away and the child's mother in the depths of a fiercely fought campaign it is difficult for the police to get a meaningful take on what may have led to the young boy's disappearance.
City of Drowned Souls is full of marvellous detail about Catalan politics, the locations are expertly described giving a real sense of location. Food habits, recipe ideas and dozens of subtle observations made it so very obvious that Chris Lloyd knows this part of the world very well - the detail makes the story so much more vivid and real.
Nicely paced, full of puzzles (with plenty of red herrings) and a few sinister elements which were great fun to see uncovered. City of Drowned Souls comes highly recommended and I look forward to catching up with the other novels in the series.
There was loads going on in City of Drowned Souls so it was a richly rewarding read. Elisenda is investigating a series of violent burglaries when a tip-off which could have broken the case falls through. Tempers flare and to keep her position Elisenda has to attend therapist sessions - her colleagues fearing she is not contending well with the death of her daughter some years earlier.
Elsewhere the child of a local politician disappears. The family reaction is not typical but with an election just days away and the child's mother in the depths of a fiercely fought campaign it is difficult for the police to get a meaningful take on what may have led to the young boy's disappearance.
City of Drowned Souls is full of marvellous detail about Catalan politics, the locations are expertly described giving a real sense of location. Food habits, recipe ideas and dozens of subtle observations made it so very obvious that Chris Lloyd knows this part of the world very well - the detail makes the story so much more vivid and real.
Nicely paced, full of puzzles (with plenty of red herrings) and a few sinister elements which were great fun to see uncovered. City of Drowned Souls comes highly recommended and I look forward to catching up with the other novels in the series.
May 30, 2024
Starting with the final book in a trilogy is a bold move but honestly Drowned Souls is a pretty engaging mystery.
Elisenda is a generally compelling main character who's given enough personality here to be memorable which is more than I can say for other mystery stories.
I liked the exploration of politics within and overall had a good time with the book.
Now I gotta work my way back and read the other Elisenda stories.
Elisenda is a generally compelling main character who's given enough personality here to be memorable which is more than I can say for other mystery stories.
I liked the exploration of politics within and overall had a good time with the book.
Now I gotta work my way back and read the other Elisenda stories.
February 15, 2017
3 stars
When a bad tip off causes police resources to be wasted while the real crime is committed in another location, Elisenda Domènech is told to take time off and get therapy. This is after she behaves inappropriately to her superior officer.
The problem she talks about in therapy is that she sees her daughter – the one who was killed six years earlier. She doesn’t see it as a problem really, but her therapist does. It is keeping her awake, it is a distraction and is making her short-tempered.
Then a 14-year old boy goes missing. He is the son of a famous politician. His older brother went missing and was never found four years earlier. Elisenda is called back from “vacation” to work the case. The other case is the burgling of some expensive rural homes.
I liked that the detective team got along well with one another – for the most part anyway. There were a few spats, but that only adds to the feeling of appropriateness to real life situations. While Elisenda is outspoken to some degree, she does not offend. She runs a tight ship and her crew appreciates it.
The mother of the missing boy is not sympathetic – indeed, she claims she does not grieve because of her faith. This angers Elisenda. The father, however, is a different subject. There is more to these parents that meets the eye.
As they follow the clues, interview people and review the first son’s disappearance, they move slowly forward with the cases.
With regard to the missing boy, there is a huge surprise and turn at the end of the book. All in all, this is a well written, suspenseful and enjoyable mystery. I look forward to reading more of Chris Lloyd’s novels.
I want to thank Netgalley and Canelo for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read.
When a bad tip off causes police resources to be wasted while the real crime is committed in another location, Elisenda Domènech is told to take time off and get therapy. This is after she behaves inappropriately to her superior officer.
The problem she talks about in therapy is that she sees her daughter – the one who was killed six years earlier. She doesn’t see it as a problem really, but her therapist does. It is keeping her awake, it is a distraction and is making her short-tempered.
Then a 14-year old boy goes missing. He is the son of a famous politician. His older brother went missing and was never found four years earlier. Elisenda is called back from “vacation” to work the case. The other case is the burgling of some expensive rural homes.
I liked that the detective team got along well with one another – for the most part anyway. There were a few spats, but that only adds to the feeling of appropriateness to real life situations. While Elisenda is outspoken to some degree, she does not offend. She runs a tight ship and her crew appreciates it.
The mother of the missing boy is not sympathetic – indeed, she claims she does not grieve because of her faith. This angers Elisenda. The father, however, is a different subject. There is more to these parents that meets the eye.
As they follow the clues, interview people and review the first son’s disappearance, they move slowly forward with the cases.
With regard to the missing boy, there is a huge surprise and turn at the end of the book. All in all, this is a well written, suspenseful and enjoyable mystery. I look forward to reading more of Chris Lloyd’s novels.
I want to thank Netgalley and Canelo for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read.
February 20, 2017
Thanks to netgalley i had a chance to review this book
There is so much going on in this book, no matter who you are or what you are into there has to be something for everyone in this book! Even though this is the 3rd book of a series it was read perfectly fine as a standalone, I for one had no idea it was even a series until i came to review it, so if you've never heard of this series it will be just fine reading on its own. There was a little too much going on at times for me, I don't really read books that have anything to do with politicians so that part kind of dragged on for me but I'm pretty sure even if that type of book as my genre i would have still found the mother pretty annoying, as she was barely a mother at all! The ending is pretty easy to figure out, but that doesn't take away from what happens at all, predictable yet still pretty good ending.
There is so much going on in this book, no matter who you are or what you are into there has to be something for everyone in this book! Even though this is the 3rd book of a series it was read perfectly fine as a standalone, I for one had no idea it was even a series until i came to review it, so if you've never heard of this series it will be just fine reading on its own. There was a little too much going on at times for me, I don't really read books that have anything to do with politicians so that part kind of dragged on for me but I'm pretty sure even if that type of book as my genre i would have still found the mother pretty annoying, as she was barely a mother at all! The ending is pretty easy to figure out, but that doesn't take away from what happens at all, predictable yet still pretty good ending.
February 22, 2017
An interesting look into a part of Spain I am not terribly familiar with: heartland of Catalan country and with lots of sensibilities regarding independence and having their own police force. Realistic descriptions of teamwork and a heroine who may have her own problems, but does not become overwhelmed by them and focuses on the case. There are in fact two cases, and many red herrings in this novel, but it's a pleasure to follow the investigative process and reasoning. The Opus Dei link was perhaps superfluous, but perhaps it was a device to emphasise corruption and nepotism.
September 23, 2019
2015 - Girona, Katalonien, Spanien
First published 2017
It begins and ends with a river. Always a river. He could hear it outside, louder and angrier than he’d ever heard it. He pulled on the iron ring until the metal clasp around his right wrist cut too far into his skin and his blood began to drip onto the cold stone floor. His left hand hadn’t been tethered so that he could eat and drink from the bottles of water and bags of food that his captor brought down to him.
Es gibt zwar einige Logik-Löcher, aber insgesamt ein spannender Krimi mit interessanten Charakteren und mehreren gut konstruierten Handlungsfäden, die der durchschnittlichen "Drogeriemarkt-Serienmörder-Krimikost" deutlich überlegen sind. Die Chefermittlerin ist tragisch-düster, wie das heutzutage so üblich ist - aber immerhin säuft sie nicht.
Die Handlung ist zeitlich im Herbst 2015 angelegt, und ich fand es interessant, eine Beschreibung der politischen Stimmung im Vorfeld der "Katalonien-Krise" 2017 (ist das schon wieder zwei Jahre her??) zu lesen.
First published 2017
It begins and ends with a river. Always a river. He could hear it outside, louder and angrier than he’d ever heard it. He pulled on the iron ring until the metal clasp around his right wrist cut too far into his skin and his blood began to drip onto the cold stone floor. His left hand hadn’t been tethered so that he could eat and drink from the bottles of water and bags of food that his captor brought down to him.
Es gibt zwar einige Logik-Löcher, aber insgesamt ein spannender Krimi mit interessanten Charakteren und mehreren gut konstruierten Handlungsfäden, die der durchschnittlichen "Drogeriemarkt-Serienmörder-Krimikost" deutlich überlegen sind. Die Chefermittlerin ist tragisch-düster, wie das heutzutage so üblich ist - aber immerhin säuft sie nicht.
Die Handlung ist zeitlich im Herbst 2015 angelegt, und ich fand es interessant, eine Beschreibung der politischen Stimmung im Vorfeld der "Katalonien-Krise" 2017 (ist das schon wieder zwei Jahre her??) zu lesen.
April 18, 2020
Crime, corruption and politics in Catalonia. Elisenda just has to make the connections. Excellent police mystery.
February 21, 2017
This book was pretty decent as there was a lot going on . The detective Elisenda had some personal things going on but she managed to work through them. Her abilities as a detective are good and she has a humorous side to her. The only part that dragged me down was the Spanish politics and the reenactments of a Spanish history event that was being celebrated . The plot of the politician's son missing was interesting and I was surprised at how that ended. All and all I liked the book . If you like a read with lots going on with some not so likeable characters plus some great characters, politics, religion, loss , Spanish culture, symbolism this book may interest you .
April 30, 2020
This is actually a really decent crime thriller. I wasn't really taken with the first two books in the series, but this seems to be a huge step up.
The plot is interesting, there's a real sense of pace and danger brought to the story by splitting the narrative into days. The characters are stronger, there are still a lot of people to try and keep track of, but not a cast of thousands. Not every thread of the story is completely successful, but there are a lot of good things here.
I would happily read more of this series if they continue at this high standard.
The plot is interesting, there's a real sense of pace and danger brought to the story by splitting the narrative into days. The characters are stronger, there are still a lot of people to try and keep track of, but not a cast of thousands. Not every thread of the story is completely successful, but there are a lot of good things here.
I would happily read more of this series if they continue at this high standard.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews