La Red Púrpura by Carmen Mola****

Reading dates: 26 March – 5 April 2025

Better conceived than the previous novel, La Red Purpura is relentless and surprising. The theme is snuff, and violence and it is rightly emotionally manipulative. I really did not get who the baddie might be. Perhaps that is due to a good scapegoat character and perhaps also to the fact that the police team of detectives did not pay enough attention to one or two of the clues when they should have. My only criticism is thay when photographs feature in a novel, I think, as a visual artist, that they should be included somehow. There are also a couple of lose ends, such as team members or Marina (and maybe even Mar), but perhaps those will be further explored in the next book, as Elena’s son was explored in this one.

I love the team, love the characters and love the Madrid setting, even if it is not as refined and polished as Morse and I don’t feel I have so much in common.

La mirada de una madre a un hijo es concreta. No hay contexto ni ruido ambiental. Un hijo es un espécimen único, como de laboratorio, un prototipo perfecto protegido en su burbuja. La maldad del mundo aletea por todas partes sin rozar siquiera al hijo modélico.