Carmen Mola - The Gypsy Bride

Portuguese cover

Comment: I brought this book from the library, since the title caught my eye. I remember I had seen it mentioned by many readers who, somehow, show up on my GR feed, and how great the book was, which is why I decided to give it a go too. I did not find English translations.

Elena Blanco is a Spanish police detective and she is given a new case. A woman is found dead and the specific details bring to mind another case, which seems too much of a coincidence but then the police finds out the woman's sister had been killed exactly the same way. Both gypsy sisters, years apart, died after their bachelorette party and both had their skulls drilled so that the killer could insert larvae in their brains. However, the killer of the first sister was arrested. Does this mean he was innocent after all? Or is someone copying his method for some strange reason? Can detective Elena and her team find the answer?

This book was originally published in 2018 and was quite the sensation, not only for the critics which elevated it to something everyone wanted to try, but mainly due to the mystery of the author. Carmen Mola is a pseudonym and for a long time that was as meaningful as Elena Ferrante's secret identity still is. However, it has been uncovered that the author is really three men, and this didn't stop readers from following the adventures of the detective, a series with five installments, following the detective and her team of special investigators.

In this first book we meet the key players and we see them as they go and look into the case of the dead woman, Susana Macaya, who has a gypsy father but who was nt raised as part of the gypsy culture. I really thought more of the story would focus on this situation and I wondered how much of a cultural aspect would play into the plot, especially at a time where different cultures and ethnicity are being used by the media and certain parties to exacerbate the problems in so many countries.

It turns out this wasn't the main issue of the book and it was really more on the detective's past and issues - mostly hidden and used as a prop for her characterization - and the police investigation. In this regard, I have to say the story was quite intriguing and rather disturbing. What kind of thought process must have gone into imagining a crime where larvae in brains had to be the method of killing someone... I confess I skipped a few paragraphs with more detailed/graphic descriptions.

Apart from the most obvious details, the ones meant to shock, I think the story wasn't such a novelty as publicity makes it look. Yes, this is one of those dark dramas where the detectives are as hard to understand as the killers they pursue and we need to think of them as gifted sociopaths somehow, where the line between morality and lack of it is too thin, but I will say that while I had a good enough experience following the investigation process, the overall feel of the story wasn't always pleasant, and not only because of the killing method.

I can understand this notion of having main characters, usually seen as the "good guys", being complex and hiding dark pasts/ways of behaving to brand them as unreachable and thinkers outside the box, but to my personal preference, this is actually a little pointless and for this story in particular, a little exaggerated because the main goal has to be to catch the killer, period. Is it that necessary for Elena Blanco to be this unstable and sometimes depressed person? I get it, but it's not that important for the main story.

The death of Susana is certainly linked to her sister's, and why. I had one idea as things went along but I will say that there were two or three twists closer to the end that were quite surprising by how they played out, although a re-read probably would show it to be more obvious than what it felt like. I wasn't such a fan of the time taken between the connection of the dots and the actual catch of the killer. There were always details, little things I wish could have been done differently.

There were some original elements here, some twists and sequences that made this an interesting read, and a thrilling one. But there were also other things I wish were different, so... it was an entertaining story but not one I'd want to revisit. If the next installment is available at the library I might try it, but I don't think I want to look for it on purpose.

Grade: 7/10