PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Arturo Perez-Reverte lives near Madrid. Originally a war correspondent, he now writes fiction full time. His novels include THE FLANDERS PANEL,THE CLUB DUMAS, THE FENCING MASTER, THE SEVILLE COMMUNION, THE NAUTICAL CHART, THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH and the bestselling Captain Alatriste series. In 2003 he was elected to the Spanish Royal Academy. His website can be visited at https://www.perezreverte.com (Spanish language) or follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/perezreverte
That rare thing, an old-fashioned, proper, big novel: The Siege is as much a thickly described historical fiction as a many-layered crime novel. The judges admired the claustrophobia of the siege of Cadiz (for both sides) during the Peninsular War that forms the detailed background to the investigation and the author's serious ethical intentions. To quote Orson Welles, Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION
