Javier Cercas was born in 1962. He is a novelist, short-story writer and columnist, whose books include Soldiers of Salamis (which sold more than a million copies worldwide, won six literary awards in Spain and was filmed by David Trueba), The Tenant and The Motive, The Speed of Light and The Anatomy of a Moment. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. He lives in Barcelona.
The portrait of a man who becomes a hero inspite of himself * ABC. * A tense thriller from the first page to the last * Vanguardia. * Even The Darkest Night is a gem of a book, easily the best I've read this year. A contemporary police procedural with a literary edge. I was rooting for the flawed, but deeply compassionate Melchor Marin from the first page to the last. Highly recommended -- M W Craven A wonderful novel. I look forward to many more Melchor stories -- A N Wilson * Tablet * The first in what promises to be an excellent series -- Guardian * Laura Wilson * Striking -- Barry Forshaw * Financial Times * Stays in the memory . . . Cercas perfectly captures the fearful mood of a town in rural Catalonia after the crime. He has also come up with an unusual detective -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times * Cercas plays fast and loose with literary conventions . . . it will be fascinating to see how the character of Marin, a knight in tarnished armour, develops -- Mark Sanderson * The Times *