Pretty Face

Narrated by the ghost of a murdered woman, "A Pretty Face" is set in the Madrid of Reig's previous novel, "Blood on the Saddle". It's the recent past reinvented so that it seems like the future: the oil has run out; the Spanish Communist Party has been overthrown by a US Army invasion; Spain is now part of the USA and Anglo is the official language. The rich live in gated communities, the poor wherever they can, in fear of genetic engineers who are testing neuroprotein K666, which might conquer death itself. The late Lola Eguibar, writer of children's fiction and daughter of the retired discoverer of K666, uses her post-mortal invisibility to unravel the events preceding her killing. She has a sidekick too, the equally unreal Benito, a randy, one-eyed, teenage character from her series of successful kids' novels. A remarkable blend of crime, science fiction and satire, "A Pretty Face" is bursting with Rafael Reig's inimitable power of imagination and sense of mischief.