Law of Return, A Sergeant Carlos Tejada Investigation

This murder mystery set in Fascist Spain is “a colorful, thrilling story about loyalty and love” (Detroit Free Press).

Spain, 1940: Lt. Carlos Tejada has been transferred to Salamanca, where he studied law before the Spanish Civil War. His new duties include monitoring parolees—former professors who were fired for protesting against Franco.

The policeman’s old love, Elena Fernandez, has also lost her job because of her political leanings, and has returned home to Salamanca from Madrid. Her father, once a distinguished classics professor, is now one of the parolees—and has just received a letter from a Jewish friend, begging for help to cross into Spain from France to avoid being forcibly repatriated to Nazi Germany. Professor Fernandez cannot violate his parole by traveling—so Elena goes in his stead, and not longer after does her path cross with the lieutenant’s, and soon they will find themselves involved in a murder case with far-reaching implications.

From an Edgar Award–winning author, this is a “strongly atmospheric” novel filled with history and intrigue (The Baltimore Sun).