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Javier Falcon #3
The Hidden Assassins
As Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón investigates a faceless, mutilated corpse, the beautiful city of Seville is rocked by a massive explosion. The discovery of a mosque in the basement of a devastated apartment building confirms everybody’s terrorist fears. Panic sweeps the city and the region goes on red alert. As more bodies are dragged from the rubble, the media interest and political pressure intensify and Falcón suspects that all is not what it appears to be. Just as he comes close to cracking the conspiracy, he makes the most terrifying discovery of all and the race is on to prevent a catastrophe far beyond Spain’s borders. A masterful thriller, The Hidden Assassins is fiction of the highest order.
453 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2006
51 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
About the author
Robert Wilson
472 books518 followersRobert Wilson has written thirteen novels including the Bruce Medway noir series set in West Africa and two Lisbon books with WW2 settings the first of which, A Small Death in Lisbon, won the CWA Gold Dagger in 1999 and the International Deutsche Krimi prize in 2003. He has written four psychological crime novels set in Seville, with his Spanish detective, Javier Falcón. Two of these books (The Blind Man of Seville and The Silent and the Damned) were filmed and broadcast on Sky Atlantic as ‘Falcón’ in 2012. A film of the fourth Falcón book was released in Spain in 2014 under the title La Ignorancia de la Sangre. Capital Punishment, the first novel in his latest series of pure thrillers set in London and featuring kidnap consultant, Charles Boxer, was published in 2013 and was nominated for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. This was followed by You Will Never Find Me in 2014. The third book in the series, Stealing People, will be published in 2015. Robert Wilson loves to cook food from all over the world but especially Spanish, Portuguese, Indian and Thai. He also loves to walk with dogs…and people, too.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
February 13, 2008
A simple murder…an explosion…terrorism
A core review easily writes itself when the heart and style of the author is familiar to the reviewer. Take into account the reviewer never having read any previous books in the series, then the story should stand on its own. The Hidden Assassins does this and more.
Meet Inspector Javier Falcon, the chief homicide detective. Add the sensitive subject of terrorism, bombs and religious factions and you have a forward motion of tension and suspense. Granted the plot takes a while to come into play but the characterizations and scene development allows a reader to dive right into Wilson’s fictional world. The author’s style is similar to Stephen King’s in the way he first connects the reader to key players in several beginning chapters.
Some of the shady and ‘unshady’ characters you’ll come across in The Hidden Assassins are: Ines, Inspector’s Falcon’s ex-wife; Manuela, the complete opposite of Falcon and his sister; a past lover, Consuelo; the mysterious mutilated and faceless murdered man, and Cristina Ferrera, an ex-nun…just to name a few who will play their part as the plot develops along with our trusted CIA, and some anti-terrorist groups.
Paced to satisfy any suspense/thriller reader, clues discovered by the forensics team and surprise twists glues you to the book. But the hint of a mosque within the rubble of the explosion that crumbled a building gives the reader the intense and sensitive story to develop.
Wilson has the gift to bring his characters to life, to give them their own identity in order to bond and move along every obstacle tossed at them. Layers of interconnecting subplots and the persistent investigative progress by Detective Falcon gives this thriller a psychological nerve-gripping edge to prove that Robert Wilson indeed has what it takes to dish out a riveting international mystery.
The only draw back was the slow forward motion to develop a solid plot amongst all the subplots and individual happenings to other players, and the amount of names one needs to remember. However, having said that, these insights eventually tie in to most of the storyline, offering a better understanding of their motivations and movements.
For those who love to dive into a complicated, twist after twist, intense mystery storyline, The Hidden Assassins will satisfy that craving.
A core review easily writes itself when the heart and style of the author is familiar to the reviewer. Take into account the reviewer never having read any previous books in the series, then the story should stand on its own. The Hidden Assassins does this and more.
Meet Inspector Javier Falcon, the chief homicide detective. Add the sensitive subject of terrorism, bombs and religious factions and you have a forward motion of tension and suspense. Granted the plot takes a while to come into play but the characterizations and scene development allows a reader to dive right into Wilson’s fictional world. The author’s style is similar to Stephen King’s in the way he first connects the reader to key players in several beginning chapters.
Some of the shady and ‘unshady’ characters you’ll come across in The Hidden Assassins are: Ines, Inspector’s Falcon’s ex-wife; Manuela, the complete opposite of Falcon and his sister; a past lover, Consuelo; the mysterious mutilated and faceless murdered man, and Cristina Ferrera, an ex-nun…just to name a few who will play their part as the plot develops along with our trusted CIA, and some anti-terrorist groups.
Paced to satisfy any suspense/thriller reader, clues discovered by the forensics team and surprise twists glues you to the book. But the hint of a mosque within the rubble of the explosion that crumbled a building gives the reader the intense and sensitive story to develop.
Wilson has the gift to bring his characters to life, to give them their own identity in order to bond and move along every obstacle tossed at them. Layers of interconnecting subplots and the persistent investigative progress by Detective Falcon gives this thriller a psychological nerve-gripping edge to prove that Robert Wilson indeed has what it takes to dish out a riveting international mystery.
The only draw back was the slow forward motion to develop a solid plot amongst all the subplots and individual happenings to other players, and the amount of names one needs to remember. However, having said that, these insights eventually tie in to most of the storyline, offering a better understanding of their motivations and movements.
For those who love to dive into a complicated, twist after twist, intense mystery storyline, The Hidden Assassins will satisfy that craving.
May 8, 2012
Some time ago I read and enjoyed Wilson’s A Small Death in Lisbon (1999), which combines a present day investigation by Inspector Zé Coelho into the death of a young woman, and art theft by the Nazis in World War II. I thought the writing good and the plot clever. With The Hidden Assassins (2006), I expected another Coelho story. Wrong. Not even the same country. This book features Inspector Javier Falcón, is set in Seville, and is the third of a quartet of novels, all of which deal with different investigations, while having common threads running throughout. And while I would have done better to start at the beginning of the series with The Blind Man of Seville (2003), I still found the book gripping – if not quite as good as my first venture with Wilson.
Read the rest of this review at What Book to Read: http://whatbooktoread.com/2012/04/24/...
Read the rest of this review at What Book to Read: http://whatbooktoread.com/2012/04/24/...
October 24, 2022
4,5*
Beveik 700 puslapių ir nėra nei vieno skyriaus, kurį galima būtų išimti iš knygos. Kiekvienas dialogas , pamąstymas ar detalė turi savo nors ir mažą, bet reikšmingą indėlį visoje istorijoje. O trečiojoje serijos knygoje autorius užgriebia dar didesnio masto problemą - terorizmą. Labai ambicingas uždavinys, su kuriuo meistriškai susidorota.
Šios serijos knygos man nuo šiol bus kaip naujas standartas, su kuriuo lyginsiu viską, ką skaitysiu šio žanro. Įtampa tolygiai išlaikyta per visą knygą, todėl niekada neprailgo, visada buvo sunku sustoti. Nebuvo viskas sustumta į pabaigą, o gražiai išrišama per visą knygą. Robert Wilson šioje serijoje daugiausia skiria dėmesio nusikaltimo tyrimo eigai, policijos darbui ir žmonių psichologijai. Tikras saldainis visiems kriminalinių detektyvų gerbėjams.
Jeigu reiktų lyginti su pirmomis dviem dalimis, ši buvo vos vos painesnė, nes tikrai aprėpta labai daug ir pabaigus reikėjo pasedėti ir susidėlioti faktus, kad išsigryninti pabaigos moralą.
Gaila, kad mano rekomendacija mažai kas pasinaudos, nes knygos nėra išverstos, o anglų kalba irgi reikia gerokai pamedžioti, kad gauti.
Beveik 700 puslapių ir nėra nei vieno skyriaus, kurį galima būtų išimti iš knygos. Kiekvienas dialogas , pamąstymas ar detalė turi savo nors ir mažą, bet reikšmingą indėlį visoje istorijoje. O trečiojoje serijos knygoje autorius užgriebia dar didesnio masto problemą - terorizmą. Labai ambicingas uždavinys, su kuriuo meistriškai susidorota.
Šios serijos knygos man nuo šiol bus kaip naujas standartas, su kuriuo lyginsiu viską, ką skaitysiu šio žanro. Įtampa tolygiai išlaikyta per visą knygą, todėl niekada neprailgo, visada buvo sunku sustoti. Nebuvo viskas sustumta į pabaigą, o gražiai išrišama per visą knygą. Robert Wilson šioje serijoje daugiausia skiria dėmesio nusikaltimo tyrimo eigai, policijos darbui ir žmonių psichologijai. Tikras saldainis visiems kriminalinių detektyvų gerbėjams.
Jeigu reiktų lyginti su pirmomis dviem dalimis, ši buvo vos vos painesnė, nes tikrai aprėpta labai daug ir pabaigus reikėjo pasedėti ir susidėlioti faktus, kad išsigryninti pabaigos moralą.
Gaila, kad mano rekomendacija mažai kas pasinaudos, nes knygos nėra išverstos, o anglų kalba irgi reikia gerokai pamedžioti, kad gauti.
January 2, 2022
This is somewhat of a surprise for me. It’s a prescient book, given that it addresses populist politics, but it was also a “Wait, what now?”moment, because the only other book I’d read by this author was set in Lisbon, and naively assumed there’d be some reference back to it. There wasn’t. I should pay more attention.
Anyhow, this book sees a bomb explode in a mosque in a working class neighbourhood, and Javier Falcon, the Head of the Seville Homicide Department steps in to try and solve the case. At the same time, he’s having to deal with the Spanish equivalent of the FBI/CIA, who ask him to reach out to an Muslim friend of his, a populist party trying to ride the coattails of the bombing, an ex-wife who is going through some issues, a girlfriend who he thinks he should break up with, and an ex who he’s pining for.
There are a number of good things about the book. Because of the political issues he faces, I was shocked that the book was written in 2007. The parallels to Trump and the alt-right made me assume it was written much more recently. Second, Wilson doesn’t pander to his readers. He’s very much... “This book is written in English, but I expect you to do some thinking for yourself. I’m not going to waste my time explaining stuff, because you’re intelligent enough to work it out yourself from what I’ve given you.” This is good because I don’t want side conversations where people get a chance to keep up. People don’t need it, and it’s pandering when you give it to them.
All in all, I think people will enjoy it. It assumes you’re not stupid, even though people who have read a lot of crime fiction might work out whodunnit sooner.
Anyhow, this book sees a bomb explode in a mosque in a working class neighbourhood, and Javier Falcon, the Head of the Seville Homicide Department steps in to try and solve the case. At the same time, he’s having to deal with the Spanish equivalent of the FBI/CIA, who ask him to reach out to an Muslim friend of his, a populist party trying to ride the coattails of the bombing, an ex-wife who is going through some issues, a girlfriend who he thinks he should break up with, and an ex who he’s pining for.
There are a number of good things about the book. Because of the political issues he faces, I was shocked that the book was written in 2007. The parallels to Trump and the alt-right made me assume it was written much more recently. Second, Wilson doesn’t pander to his readers. He’s very much... “This book is written in English, but I expect you to do some thinking for yourself. I’m not going to waste my time explaining stuff, because you’re intelligent enough to work it out yourself from what I’ve given you.” This is good because I don’t want side conversations where people get a chance to keep up. People don’t need it, and it’s pandering when you give it to them.
All in all, I think people will enjoy it. It assumes you’re not stupid, even though people who have read a lot of crime fiction might work out whodunnit sooner.
July 17, 2009
Book 3 in the Javier Falcon series
The story explores cultural tensions and provides insights into the world of today. Different characters give us their points of view in the hope of helping us understand why the world has seen a resurgence of horrific events against mankind in recent years.
Through great writing and excellent plotting, Mr Wilson has taken his protagonist Javier Falcon on multiple cases, one of a man found brutally murdered, whose body was mutilated to prevent identification, another case, an explosion of a building leaving the area in total devastation. Leading the police investigation and working along side other agencies Javier Falcon needs to develop and bring to the forefront all evidential facts, a challenge complicated by the number of agencies involved.
There are also several sub-plots that are crucial to the story: We continue the saga of his ex-wife and her second husband and his lover, Falcon’s ex-girlfriend and her therapist, his sister’s partner and friend from Morocco. This all adds colour to the story.
This long story (642 pages) is layered with absorbing details, a rich tapestry of characters drawing an enchanting picture of life in Spain, its food and people. This is a crime fiction at its best interlacing crime, police procedure and current events producing an excellent thriller.
Although this 3rd installment stands by itself, reading the previous novels will give a better understanding of the recurrent characters, enhancing the experience.
The story explores cultural tensions and provides insights into the world of today. Different characters give us their points of view in the hope of helping us understand why the world has seen a resurgence of horrific events against mankind in recent years.
Through great writing and excellent plotting, Mr Wilson has taken his protagonist Javier Falcon on multiple cases, one of a man found brutally murdered, whose body was mutilated to prevent identification, another case, an explosion of a building leaving the area in total devastation. Leading the police investigation and working along side other agencies Javier Falcon needs to develop and bring to the forefront all evidential facts, a challenge complicated by the number of agencies involved.
There are also several sub-plots that are crucial to the story: We continue the saga of his ex-wife and her second husband and his lover, Falcon’s ex-girlfriend and her therapist, his sister’s partner and friend from Morocco. This all adds colour to the story.
This long story (642 pages) is layered with absorbing details, a rich tapestry of characters drawing an enchanting picture of life in Spain, its food and people. This is a crime fiction at its best interlacing crime, police procedure and current events producing an excellent thriller.
Although this 3rd installment stands by itself, reading the previous novels will give a better understanding of the recurrent characters, enhancing the experience.
January 6, 2016
Gleich mit zwei schwierigen Ermittlungen muß sich Chefinspektor Falcón herumschlagen: auf einer Müllkippe wird eine unkenntlich gemachte Leiche entdeckt, und einen Tag später explodiert ein Wohnblock in einem armen Viertel der Stadt. Schnell stellt sich heraus, daß die Explosion nur durch Sprengstoff verursacht worden sein kann. Und auch die Leiche vom Vortag hängt damit zusammen.
Aufgrund der Explosion finden sich auch bald die Vertreter der Geheimdienste ein und bestimmen die Stoßrichtung der Ermittlungen in ihrem Sinne.
Hier sind mehrere Geschichten zu einem dichten Netz verwoben, das atmosphärisch dicht ist und den Leser bei der Stange hält. Diese Geschichten sind teils kriminalistisch, teils politisch, teils privat. Trotz der vielenn Seitenstränge und Nebengeschichten schafft es Robert Wilson aber, den roten Faden nicht zu verlieren und ein Szenario durchzuspielen, das gerade nach den Anschlägen der letzten Zeit sehr realistisch erscheint.
Aufgrund der Explosion finden sich auch bald die Vertreter der Geheimdienste ein und bestimmen die Stoßrichtung der Ermittlungen in ihrem Sinne.
Hier sind mehrere Geschichten zu einem dichten Netz verwoben, das atmosphärisch dicht ist und den Leser bei der Stange hält. Diese Geschichten sind teils kriminalistisch, teils politisch, teils privat. Trotz der vielenn Seitenstränge und Nebengeschichten schafft es Robert Wilson aber, den roten Faden nicht zu verlieren und ein Szenario durchzuspielen, das gerade nach den Anschlägen der letzten Zeit sehr realistisch erscheint.
November 25, 2021
Leitura difícil... Terrorismo islâmico não é a minha cena :)
July 14, 2012
I've read other thrillers by Wilson but this is my first foray into the world of Javier Falcon, a police inspector in the Spanish city of Seville. A murder investigation uncovers a terrorist plot and we are thrust into the world of John LeCarre, albeit it with a Spanish accent. I found the whole thing confusing, but I always have trouble keeping track of characters with foreign names. Falcon didn't seem to be a particularly compelling hero and I became bored by the details of what he ate and drank and who he wanted to bed. The Spanish housing bubble was in full swing and it was interesting reading about that with knowledge of the catastrophe to come, but that wasn't enough to save this for me.
June 28, 2014
Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón's personal devils we learned of in "The Blind Man of Seville" continue to haunt him in this international mystery. A faceless corpse, a devastating explosion and the future of Andalusia. Can they be connected? I r eally like Javier. Tenacious and resilient. An enjoyable read.
October 8, 2017
I felt like a big complex plot kind of novel. This one fit the bill, although a little too big and too complex.
An enormous amount of detail fills the first two thirds of the book - and really it's just part of his writing style - before it all starts to come together and make some sense. Until then it's like sifting through a grab bag of unrelated widgets. Not too exciting or compelling.
The secondary storyline involving domestic abuse takes up far too much of the book. It gets drawn out far too long with far too much detail. It does contain the best characterization of the book, providing the only characters that stand out on their own. The main storyline is filled with a very large amount of characters, none of whom really distinguish themselves other than the protagonist. That's part of what makes the first two thirds a slog: tons of details from faceless characters.
Everyone speaks with literate highly educated voice, even a minor character who supposedly is of limited education. That also lends a sameness to the characters. On top of that, add in the narrator of the audiobook and his English accent dripping with condescension and you get quite the snooty feel.
Once it does all come together you finally get to appreciate all of the detail as it all winds together in generally satisfying manner. The main plot itself is thought provoking and there's several tasty bits that chew on the questions it raises about terrorism, political opportunism, fear, and so on.
One last comment on the narrator. He barely made any attempt to create distinct voices for the characters so I'd say he's more of a reader than a performer. Performers are better for audiobooks.
All of that comes down to a decidedly middle of the road three stars for this book.
An enormous amount of detail fills the first two thirds of the book - and really it's just part of his writing style - before it all starts to come together and make some sense. Until then it's like sifting through a grab bag of unrelated widgets. Not too exciting or compelling.
The secondary storyline involving domestic abuse takes up far too much of the book. It gets drawn out far too long with far too much detail. It does contain the best characterization of the book, providing the only characters that stand out on their own. The main storyline is filled with a very large amount of characters, none of whom really distinguish themselves other than the protagonist. That's part of what makes the first two thirds a slog: tons of details from faceless characters.
Everyone speaks with literate highly educated voice, even a minor character who supposedly is of limited education. That also lends a sameness to the characters. On top of that, add in the narrator of the audiobook and his English accent dripping with condescension and you get quite the snooty feel.
Once it does all come together you finally get to appreciate all of the detail as it all winds together in generally satisfying manner. The main plot itself is thought provoking and there's several tasty bits that chew on the questions it raises about terrorism, political opportunism, fear, and so on.
One last comment on the narrator. He barely made any attempt to create distinct voices for the characters so I'd say he's more of a reader than a performer. Performers are better for audiobooks.
All of that comes down to a decidedly middle of the road three stars for this book.
December 28, 2024
"The Hidden Assasins" is the third book in Wilson's marvellous Seville-tetralogy and by all means the strongest part of this dark and complex series revolving around the willful and uncorruptable Homicide Detective Javier Falcon. While it was already a wonderful treat to read the first volume ("The blind man of Seville"), dealing with Falcon's unsettling family past, and the second one ("The Silent and the Damned") a good, yet slightly less compelling read, Wilson was upping his game with this third tale centering around a bomb explosion in one of Seville's city centre apartment buildings and Falcon's investigation of the background of what only on the surface seems to be a mere terrorist act committed by Muslim Jihadists wanting to reestablish a caliphate in Andalusia. Falcon soon finds out that there are other hidden parties like a branch of the Spanish secret service and a right-wing catholic organization which might have had their hands in this attack which ripples the country as it happened only two years after the 2004 Madrid bombings...
I've rarely come across an author who can so aptly intertwine different story lines and a large canvas of characters. Robert Wilson is a true master of his art and this one in my view his best novel yet, "The Hidden Assasins" is an ambitious and deeply satisfying crime novel and political thriller at the same time. Sadly, only the first two novels were made into TV movies, while this one and the last volume of the Seville series ("The Ignorance of Blood") would also have deserved a good movie adaption.
This one is highly recommended to everyone liking a suspensful modern crime novel - though you might like to read the first two volumes first.
I've rarely come across an author who can so aptly intertwine different story lines and a large canvas of characters. Robert Wilson is a true master of his art and this one in my view his best novel yet, "The Hidden Assasins" is an ambitious and deeply satisfying crime novel and political thriller at the same time. Sadly, only the first two novels were made into TV movies, while this one and the last volume of the Seville series ("The Ignorance of Blood") would also have deserved a good movie adaption.
This one is highly recommended to everyone liking a suspensful modern crime novel - though you might like to read the first two volumes first.
March 9, 2018
I haven't read a Javier Falcon thriller in years and I wasn't disappointed. It was well-written with a rather complex storyline. The protagonist is compelling and (almost) worth spending 642 pages with. For me the best parts involved the human relationships rather than the assassin hunting. On the negative side, IMHO the book is too long, with too many undeveloped (or developed in previous books) characters to keep track of, and too many police branches and terrorist organizations––GICM, MILA, GIA, 14IT, CNI, CGI, etc. I would recommend anything by Wilson, especially A Small Death in Lisbon, and The Company of Strangers, but I would read the other Javier Falcon books in order.
March 23, 2019
Wilson's character Javier Falcon is a perfect noir hero
Javier Falcon threads his way through psychological tunnels to discover himself and his true antecedents in the previous two books. This book allows him to stretch out his mind to solve one of the difficult puzzles of mystery fiction: how to find the anomaly hidden in plain sight. As established in the first two novels Seville is also explored both as a character in terms of positive space and as the city in terms of negative space. Wilson explores how fantacism, whether it be sexual desire or religion, creates victims in all its perpetrators families and friends.
Javier Falcon threads his way through psychological tunnels to discover himself and his true antecedents in the previous two books. This book allows him to stretch out his mind to solve one of the difficult puzzles of mystery fiction: how to find the anomaly hidden in plain sight. As established in the first two novels Seville is also explored both as a character in terms of positive space and as the city in terms of negative space. Wilson explores how fantacism, whether it be sexual desire or religion, creates victims in all its perpetrators families and friends.
May 30, 2021
A huge explosion destroys a mosque in the basement of an apartment building in Seville. The explosion destroys much of the rest of the building as well. After the dust is cleared and the searches are on, many bodies are found.
Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon investigates this event. Much attention is paid to the existence of the mosque and many are assuming that the explosion was the work of muslims who worshipped - and stored explosives - in the mosque. Falcon has reason to think otherwise.
A complicated, absorbing story with many personalities. Good story, good characters.
Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon investigates this event. Much attention is paid to the existence of the mosque and many are assuming that the explosion was the work of muslims who worshipped - and stored explosives - in the mosque. Falcon has reason to think otherwise.
A complicated, absorbing story with many personalities. Good story, good characters.
October 11, 2017
Another excellent Javier Falcon mystery. For me this series is increasingly more about the characters than about the crimes. The main crime in this story was not as grotesque as the prior books. However, there is detailed domestic violence in this one, and sadly, it seems that Ines and Juez Calderon will not be in the 4th and last book. I will miss them, as they were key characters in Javier's world. Solid characters and a solid plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2018
In general I don't like reading about the dysfunction of the Europe vs Islam politic, especially the terrorist angle. Having glossed over those portions of this story, I still find Wilson to be an evocative and intelligent writer.
I don't what it is about detectives that eat well but I'm glad it's a thing. I was craving the tapas of southern Spain the entire reading.
I don't what it is about detectives that eat well but I'm glad it's a thing. I was craving the tapas of southern Spain the entire reading.
February 22, 2021
Very satisfying continuation of this series with Javier and Consuelo, but bogs Dow in middle with procedurals of murder, bombing,and local political groups. Very satisfying solution, but all is revealed in last 30 pages. I knew the first 8 pages had something to do with the book, but took 400 pages to draw it together.
August 11, 2022
Fast-paced & full of unexpected twists, this thriller set in Seville as about as realistic as crime fiction can be. Centred around a bombing, the terrorist element is gripping & makes for compulsive reading. However, there are dozens of characters & keeping track of the Spanish names was hard work. All in all, a great read but let down by the very predictable last chapter.
February 25, 2024
This is the first Robert Wilson book I have read and maybe I should have started with one of his earlier ones to understand the protagonist, Javier Falcon. I couldn’t quite get a grip on his character. This is a good plot but the writing style is one of too much detail and too many characters with foreign names so I found it hard to keep up with who was who. I have been generous in giving it 4 stars, for a novel of this size and complexity I really only want to give it 3 1/2.
December 3, 2022
Terrorism in Seville
Although very detailed in police procedure in contrast with intelligence work, this was an absorbing and exciting account. Falcon is a kind and very thoughtful inspector. Satisfying read!
Although very detailed in police procedure in contrast with intelligence work, this was an absorbing and exciting account. Falcon is a kind and very thoughtful inspector. Satisfying read!
September 24, 2023
3.5 really, but goodreads doesn't let people do that. It was good and interesting, but lost me a bit in a quick wrapup at the end. This was actually my second read, but I'd read it so long ago I barely remembered anything M
March 17, 2017
Well written. Such enormous amount of detail, it's almost too much to keep track of. A great read.
September 6, 2019
Deeply dissatisfying with too many sub plots that seemed to Peter out with too many characters that contributed little. The work would be improved hugely by a good editor!
March 7, 2020
Miuto bom
May 11, 2022
Quite an adventure.
March 8, 2023
Very good.
September 10, 2025
recomendable
August 25, 2015
The pace of this thriller does not stop. The setting: Seville, Spain. The beginning: a mutilated corpse is found on a rubbish dump. The first turning point: an explosion at a block of flats turns out to be a terrorism attack on the mosque in the basement. Or is it? Detective Javier Falcón is swept along by the media circus and political panic as fear of a widescale attack on Andalucía grips Spain.
This is the third of Robert Wilson’s four-book series about Falcón and the story twists and turns relentlessly. The plotting is excellent, I challenge you to work out the answers. As Javier unravels the knots you don’t know what to believe and neither does he.
I am fascinated by the insight into Falcón’s life provided by glimpses of his cooking. His housekeeper leaves his food in the fridge for him to prepare in the evening. He is something of a cook. “Encarnación had left him some fresh pork fillet. He made a salad and sliced up some potatoes and the meat. He smashed up some cloves of garlic, threw them into the frying pan with the pork fillet and chips. He dashed some cheap whisky on top and let it catch fire from the gas flame. He ate without thinking about the food and drank a glass of red rioja to loosen up his mind.” And then he goes out to work again. It is 10pm.
I will not give away the plot details, but there are sub-plots too involving characters who featured in books one and two: Javier’s ex-wife Inés and her husband the judge Esteban Calderón, his ex-girlfriend Consuelo, his sister Manuela.
As always, Seville is an additional character. Its streets, the heat, the lifestyle. It makes me want to go there now.
This is the third of Robert Wilson’s four-book series about Falcón and the story twists and turns relentlessly. The plotting is excellent, I challenge you to work out the answers. As Javier unravels the knots you don’t know what to believe and neither does he.
I am fascinated by the insight into Falcón’s life provided by glimpses of his cooking. His housekeeper leaves his food in the fridge for him to prepare in the evening. He is something of a cook. “Encarnación had left him some fresh pork fillet. He made a salad and sliced up some potatoes and the meat. He smashed up some cloves of garlic, threw them into the frying pan with the pork fillet and chips. He dashed some cheap whisky on top and let it catch fire from the gas flame. He ate without thinking about the food and drank a glass of red rioja to loosen up his mind.” And then he goes out to work again. It is 10pm.
I will not give away the plot details, but there are sub-plots too involving characters who featured in books one and two: Javier’s ex-wife Inés and her husband the judge Esteban Calderón, his ex-girlfriend Consuelo, his sister Manuela.
As always, Seville is an additional character. Its streets, the heat, the lifestyle. It makes me want to go there now.
December 13, 2021
Throughout the 4-book Javier Falcon series, Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon solves murders, with the stories originating in Falcon’s home base, Seville, Spain. Solving the crimes and identifying the guilty parties requires that Falcon cross regional and international boundaries, and manage professional relationships with multiple police and intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, he is confronting his own dissolved marriage and a variety of revelations that emerge through the series about his own family/parental background. The stories involve a mix of terrorists, organized crime, corruption in government and business, and a host of human weaknesses, failings, and downright evils - as well as love, friendship, compassion, and dedicated pursuit of the good (with well-placed rumination by key characters about exactly what that good looks like).
If you love a good police procedural, crime thriller, spy novel - here they are expertly rolled up into one. If you’d like to spend some time imaging being in hot, sunny, southern Spain (or recalling your own travels in the region), Inspector Jefe Falcon will serve as an excellent guide.
Take the plunge… you’ll be grateful that British author and traveler, Robert Wilson, rode his bike into Spain, encountered Holy Week in Seville, and found his inspiration for this thoroughly entertaining, wonderfully written series! (If you’re interested in Wilson’s own recounting of that process, visit the Javier Falcon tab of Wilson’s website: https://robert-wilson.org.uk/falcon/i...
The Javier Falcon series includes:
1. The Blind Man Of Seville
2. The Vanished Hands
3. The Hidden Assassins
4. The Ignorance Of Blood
If you love a good police procedural, crime thriller, spy novel - here they are expertly rolled up into one. If you’d like to spend some time imaging being in hot, sunny, southern Spain (or recalling your own travels in the region), Inspector Jefe Falcon will serve as an excellent guide.
Take the plunge… you’ll be grateful that British author and traveler, Robert Wilson, rode his bike into Spain, encountered Holy Week in Seville, and found his inspiration for this thoroughly entertaining, wonderfully written series! (If you’re interested in Wilson’s own recounting of that process, visit the Javier Falcon tab of Wilson’s website: https://robert-wilson.org.uk/falcon/i...
The Javier Falcon series includes:
1. The Blind Man Of Seville
2. The Vanished Hands
3. The Hidden Assassins
4. The Ignorance Of Blood
January 6, 2013
På dansk: Mordere i skjul
Det er et skarpt og politisk godt tænkt plot. Religiøs terrorisme, politisk opportunisme og populisme går hånd i hånd med almindelige borgeres frygt. Politi og efterretningsorganisationers manglende gennemsigtighed og evne til at skabe overblik efter en bombe springer i et boligområde i Sevilla er det centrale plot. Herudfra udskiller der sig adskillige sidehistorier, der både har korruption, ligestilling, medierne og magtens uhellige alliancer, nordafrikas geopolitiske rolle og Andalusiens historie som temaer. Bestemt en læseværdig thriller der formår at holde spændigsniveauet gennem alle 608 sider.
Hvis der er noget at udsætte på Wilsons trejde Falcón-thriller er det, at der er ret mange bifigurer og institutioner at holde styr på. Det er muligvis en selvstændig pointe i beskrivelsen af terrorens og efterretningstjenesternes/opklaringens væsen, men det gør at man næsten skal halvvejs før forvirringen letter.
Og så har bogen altså et mystisk forhold til kvinder. Den eneste nogenlunde normale af slagsen er en frafalden nonne (sic!). Ellers befinder kvinderne (der alle er arbejdsmæssigt succesrigesige)sig mellem på-grænsen-af-sammenbrud, psykisk og fysisk voldsoffer og (virkelig) femme fatale. Lidt anstrengende.
Det er et skarpt og politisk godt tænkt plot. Religiøs terrorisme, politisk opportunisme og populisme går hånd i hånd med almindelige borgeres frygt. Politi og efterretningsorganisationers manglende gennemsigtighed og evne til at skabe overblik efter en bombe springer i et boligområde i Sevilla er det centrale plot. Herudfra udskiller der sig adskillige sidehistorier, der både har korruption, ligestilling, medierne og magtens uhellige alliancer, nordafrikas geopolitiske rolle og Andalusiens historie som temaer. Bestemt en læseværdig thriller der formår at holde spændigsniveauet gennem alle 608 sider.
Hvis der er noget at udsætte på Wilsons trejde Falcón-thriller er det, at der er ret mange bifigurer og institutioner at holde styr på. Det er muligvis en selvstændig pointe i beskrivelsen af terrorens og efterretningstjenesternes/opklaringens væsen, men det gør at man næsten skal halvvejs før forvirringen letter.
Og så har bogen altså et mystisk forhold til kvinder. Den eneste nogenlunde normale af slagsen er en frafalden nonne (sic!). Ellers befinder kvinderne (der alle er arbejdsmæssigt succesrigesige)sig mellem på-grænsen-af-sammenbrud, psykisk og fysisk voldsoffer og (virkelig) femme fatale. Lidt anstrengende.
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