El asesinato de Lord Conan Whitehall, by José María Espinar

In the middle of a stormy night, Lord Conan is brutally murdered: his body is found naked on the sofa in the family room. Heart, wrists, thighs and neck have been stabbed to death. Next to the body, the criminal has left a glass full of blood and a book. The police chief inspector, Alwyn Vertebra, a man with an overwhelming personality, will be in charge of solving the case. But the investigation is extraordinarily complex. In reality, there is only one clue; an anonymous telegram, which says: "He has paid a past debt with his life". In the end, it will not be so important to find out who took the life of one of the patriarchs of the British nobility as it will be to find out the reasons that led to the old aristocrat being killed in such a cruel way.

The murder of Lord Conan Whitehall is an unparalleled tribute to late 19th century English literature. In a surprising and amusing way, winks and cameos truffle a story told through an unmistakable style, with which the Granada-born José María Espinar masterfully transports us to another era and another aesthetic. And all this with the expertise of the best police writing of greater importance, like Sherlock Holmes.

José María Espinar's novel has been awarded the Tiflos Novel Prize in 2020.<