Blood Wedding

Max Romero Mystery #1

by P.J. Brooke

Inspector Max Romero investigates the death of a Muslim girl in Granada, Spain. The prime suspect may have terrorist links, but insensitive handling of the case leads to his suicide. As a result, Max is co-opted into a dangerous antiterrorist operation.

Genres: Mystery, Spain, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

P.J. Brooke is the amalgam of a husband and wife writing team, Philip O’Brien and Jane Brooke. They live part of the year in Scotland and part of the year in the old Moorish district of Granada. Blood Wedding is the first novel in a planned series set in Granada and Latin America featuring Inspector Max Romero.

Reviews

[Marianne V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in Granada. Written by English authors, Blood Wedding is laced with quotes and references to Garcia Lorca, interspersing the Spanish Civil War and the mystery of who turned in Garcia Lorca to the Falanges with the contemporary fear of Muslim extremism, also revealing anti-Muslim sentiment in the shadow of the contributions of Muslim rule in Spain. Like John Le Carre's A Most Wanted Man, it depicts official torture and cover ups in the pursuit of "anti-terrorism". The vivid description of the locale makes me want to hop on a plane and spend the summer in Spain

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow start but I really enjoyed the moral ambiguity of the circumstances face by the main character, Max. He was faced with complex circumstances and he had to make hard choices professionally and personally. I also liked the use of the poet Lorca and the backstory of the Spanish Civil War.

[David Wean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only seem to read murder mysteries when I'm preparing to travel - the authors tend to drop a lot of local tourist information and maybe some opinions, and when I get there it's fun to walk the streets where these (fictional) events took place.

In my limited experience, this was a fine mystery, weaving in history, personalities, georgraphy. I cared about the main character, and saw the motivations for most of the other characters.

Glad I'm not going to Granada in August...

[Peter A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I purchased after returning from a vacation to Spain (Andalucia). In thinking about what I might do in retirement, it had been suggested that I should write mysteries. And so, in looking into whether others had done that, I came across this book as well as the historical fiction by David Penny.

This book is set in modern day (2003 to 2005) Granada. This husband-wife team (the author P.J. Brooke, Philip O’Brien and Jane Brooke) has blended together the culture that resulted from the Moorish history of Granada, with the wounds of the Spanish Civil War, to today’s terrorism to create a unique feel. The story revolves around the death of a Muslim female student (from England) studying aspects of the Spanish Civil War. The protagonist, Max Rodrigo, has a grandmother who is still alive who is also still wanting to know what happened to her brother. Into the mix is the desire of the current (i.e., during the modern day) Spanish government to find terrorists everywhere [the leadership party at the time was in a narrow race with the socialists, and had supported the US-led invasion of Iraq – causing unrest among the Spanish Muslim community.

One of the casualties of the Spanish Civil War was Frederico Garcia Lorca (a real person, who according to Wikipedia “achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. The Generation of '27 was a group consisting of mostly poets who introduced the tenets of European movements (such as symbolism, futurism, and surrealism) into Spanish literature”. In this story Lorca knew the Max’s grandmother and her missing brother. Chapter are started off by small sections of his poetry. In fact, the title of the book, Blood Wedding, is taken from a play by Lorca, when the bride runs off with her lover, the groom pursues, and groom and lover kill each other. [There is a scene in the book of the death at a wedding.]

And Max knows the father of the murdered woman, is also after the truth about his daughter.

Max himself seems out of place in the police, always looking for the truth (in cover-ups). As noted by one of the review, Max [is] agreeable company (Daily Telegraph

While the overt manipulation of the “need to find a terrorist” at the national level, and the desire to pin the murder on a Muslim at the local level seemed a bit pushed, they are plausible. Multiple stories, histories, and cultures were nicely woven together. I do hope that this “author” comes back to Max and Granada.

Max did observe that it would be interesting to have someone write a mystery set in Granada. The authors did that, and did that well!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a whole going on in this mystery- murder, terrorism, the Spanish Civil War - but the Granada setting is vivid and played as one of the characters. Romero is a likable sleuth and I'd read his next case.

[Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Blood Wedding by PJ Brooke (a husband and wife writing team). It is set in Granada and a town just outside - the main character is a Granada police detective. While some of the other characters were horrible (deliberately so, I think), I liked the main character a lot. It also really conveyed the feel of Granada, as well as Spanish history (most of which is relatively new for me). I read it while in Granada, which may have added to my rating a bit. Also, check out the authors' website, as they have photos from around Granada of some of the places in the book! Quite interesting.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery, especially for a first time out, with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. The insights into Christian-Muslim relations in Spain in the era of the "War on Terror" are worth the price of the book. I really liked the main character and wanted to know more about him, and his family, who feature prominently in the book. I like that. Families (for good or ill) tell you a lot about a person.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

another book set in grenada,spain. glad i had read "the return" first, so i had a clue about the spanish civil war, the poet lorca, and the prejudice against franco supporters that apparently still exists today. also underscores the prejudices against muslims and widespread police corruption. mystery is just "ok." max, the police sub inspector, was not a character i particularly liked.

[David Agranoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

So my father has read two novels in a decade and this was one of them. That is 100 % of the reason I read this. Set in Spain and involving the Spanish civil war this murder mystery seemed promising. I think my father enjoyed it more than me because of the setting.

I found the dialogue stilted and the writing stiff. Nothing about the story grabbed me either.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the local color of the story set in Granada and was more interested in the local color than in the story. A back story showing the long-term effects of the Spanish Civil War crept up on me as a plot point, probably as intended. I look forward to other novels to see how these characters develop.

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. The plot was decent, the dialogue was a little clunky, and the main character takes more showers than any fictional detective EVER. I think this was to indicate it was hot, but it got a bit irritating. I have the next one in the series but am not sure I want to read it.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A capable investigator, somewhat hen picked by his extended family, especially the beloved grandmother. Good coverage of discrimination against immigrants and racial bias as well as a history of revolution and civil unrest in this "the last Moorish Kingdom in Europe."

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery. In a great location, Granada, Spain

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clunky writing.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in Granada. The story makes the most of the location, culture and history of the region.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the Granada setting but I thought the characters and setting were only so-so. It may be just that I have been reading too many mysteries lately.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great lead charactor - Sub Inspector Max Romero - in the world of Granada, the Spanish Civil War and contemporary Islam. A suspensful and engaging thriller.