The doorway

BOOK REVIEW

THE DOORWAY

Author: Manel Loureiro From the reader report by: Anette Lang-Coiro

La puerta is the latest mystery thriller by Galician author Manel Loureiro, who has already been called “the Spanish Stephen King”. Although this novel does not stand out by language of extraordinary quality, certainly those who love the genre will appreciate the thrilling page turner which leaves much space for the supernatural and occult, certainly not least because of its local colour, and it may well be that they are going to prefer it from a US-American counterpart. […]

Accordingly, both the Puerta del Más Allá and Monte Seixo are real places […]. The deserted villages, the crumbling infrastructure and the dismissive old people of the region provide a perfect background for the novel.

Particularly beautiful in the context of the references to the region are precisely those passages where, as a matter of course, the local colour becomes part of the action, such as the moment when Raquel researches old newspapers for ritual crimes in the past and instead finds the Caudillo on the front page. Accordingly, the Francoist press attributes several bloody incidents to marauding groups of Republicans who are said to be still roaming in the region.

Also, much of the mood of the novel is due to the fact that during every single day of the about two weeks of the framework of action it is raining cats and dogs and that all the protagonists are constantly struggling with Galicia’s bad weather.

In the German-speaking countries, for quite some time crime novels with a regional touch have been very popular.

PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS DE | FR | JP

ANTONIA KERRIGAN AGENCIA LITERARIA

Title THE DOORWAY LA PUERTA

Author Manel Loureiro Genre Literature Pages 352

ISBN 978-84-08233-20-6 Year of publication 2020 Number of editions 4 Language Spanish Spanish retail price 18.90 €

Author’s biography: Manel Loureiro is a writer and a lawyer who has also worked as a TV presenter in Galicia and as a screen writer on several projects. At present he works with several newspapers including, La Voz de Galicia and El Mundo, as well as the online radio channels, Cadena Ser and Onda Cero. His first novel, Apocalipsis Z. El principio del fin (Apocalypse Z. The beginning and the end) began as an internet blog that he wrote in his spare time. Due to its huge success (it went viral with more than a million and a half online readers), it was published as a novel in 2007 and became a bestseller. His later novels, Los días oscuros (The Dark Days), La ira de los justos (The anger of the Just), El último pasajero (The Last Passenger), Fulgor (Brilliance), and Veinte (Twenty) have all made huge sales not only in Spain but in other countries worldwide. Manel Loureiro is one of the few contemporary Spanish authors that has managed to get onto the bestseller lists in the United States. www.facebook.com/Manel-Loureiro-50398282010

Synopsis: Manel Loureiro surprises us with a thriller set in Galicia, a mysterious land of legends. The body of a young woman is discovered at the foot of the mythical Puerta de Alén (the Alén Doorway), and, disconcertingly for the investigating officers, she has apparently been killed in an ancient ritual. Agent Raquel Colina has recently arrived in this lost corner of Galicia in an attempt to save the life of her son, who’s illness modern medicine has failed to cure. Without any other alternative, and filled with doubts, Raquel has come searching for a local healer who promises a cure. However, when the healer mysteriously disappears, Raquel begins to suspect it is connected with the dead woman at the Doorway. In this magical rural landscape where everyone seems to be hiding something, helped by her companion, Raquel begins the desperate search for a solution to the case and for a chance to save her son’s life.

Publisher: Antonia Kerrigan Agencia Literaria We represent Spanish speaking authors to a worldwide audience ourselves and through other agencies and foreign publishers. At present we have 150 authors on our books from a range of genres, fiction and non-fiction.

Publishing rights available from: Antonia Kerrigan Agencia Literaria - CIF B61801932 Travessera de Gracia 22, 1º 2ª, Barcelona www.antoniakerrigan.com/es/autor/3233/Loureiro-ManelContact: Sofia Di Capita [sofia@antoniakerrigan.com] [claudia@antoniakerrigan.com] Phone: (+34) 932 093 820

Countries where the rights have been sold: Czech Republic