Walking the Lions: A Novel of Suspense

by Stephen Burgen

The unexpected message from Spain that his aunt has just died stuns Alex Nadal. It’s not just that the circumstances of her fatal fall are suspicious, it’s that his father had always led him to believe that his aunt was killed at the end of the Spanish Civil War sixty years ago. With the inheritance of her farm near Barcelona, Alex decides to leave his native New York City for his ancestral homeland. Very soon after landing on Spanish soil, however, Alex finds himself an unwelcome stranger in a country determined to keep its secrets. An unnamed party persistently makes him fantastic offers for his aunt’s estate, with hints of threats if he does not sell—yet no one will answer his questions about the truth behind his true family legacy. But Alex will not be put off and his persistence brings him up against some of the most powerful forces in the country, including Salvador Oriol, the uncrowned king of Catalonia, and his nephew Narcis, a sharply dressed thug with a talent for violence. Yet Alex is not without allies, among them Carmen, the dark-eyed arts correspondent of the Barcelona daily, who seems heaven-sent. On the other side, there is Angel, doyen of hustlers and Carmen’s ex-lover. In a thriller that matches top-notch suspense with the romantic atmosphere of Spain, Alex and Carmen unearth a dossier of explosive information on events that happened in 1938 and forced his father to flee the family farm. In trying to find out why, Alex discovers that this is a country where there is no past, only unfinished business.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2002

Reviews

[GingerOrange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terrible.

I will admit, I got very irritated with the writing and main character sometimes. And truthfully, I'm still a little annoyed. Some parts were just unnecessarily misogynistic a times. Not in an outright manner but you could really tell this story was written by a man by the way he framed his female characters. Not to mention, he kept pointing out unnecessary observations on certain character's sexualities.

The crime/intrigue plotline itself was interesting. I like stories that blow the lid on cover-ups. Maybe its the cynic in me. But this story was definitely that. The setting was interesting to me as well; but mostly because I had never read a book in this setting. The book was short so there wasn't too much waffling about which I appreciate.

Overall, it was okay. Not sure if I'll remember this story beyond next week but it was entertainment for a few hours.

[Carole Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot, well written, informative and entertaining. Looking forward to more novels from this erudite author.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic mystery, nothing fantastic but a solid, entertaining read. Alex Nadal is left a farm near Barcelona by his aunt, who died from a fatal tumble down the stairs. This leads to several questions. One, why did his father say she had died while still a girl? Two, was her real death an accident or was she pushed?

The farm is tied to a shady land deal and an atrocity dating from the Spanish Civil War. Alex, whose father had fled from Spain with a sense of secret shame tied to that long-ago atrocity, has returned to discover that secret. He finds himself the target of powerful, ruthless people, who also would prefer to let the past remain undistured. Alex also becomes the love interest of a sexy Catalan journalist.

The shadow of the civil war looms behind the story. For the most part, after Franco's death, Spaniards agreed to forget. They preferred to get on with life and avoid raking up past crimes. As an outsider, Alex doesn't accept this tacit social agreement and wants very much to blow open the past.

One criticism I have with this book is that Alex is supposed to be an American, but he doesn't sound like it. The author, a Canadian resident in London, puts a lot of British speech into his protagonist's mouth. Brits call their mothers "Mum," as do Canadians, but Americans from Manhattan born to Hispanic parents? Not so much.

Still, a fun read. It does the things good mysteries are supposed to do. It entertained me, gave me a sense of its setting, made me care about its characters, etc.

[Margot Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't recommend it. Had to skip a lot of sex scenes.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read, straight ahead writing, set in Barcelona, a cultural twist in the title.

[Random · Rating 2 out of 5]

The location was the most interesting part of the book. I'd like to visit Barcelona now. The "big reveal" is kind of predictable, the characters' choices don't always seem logical.