An entry in a popular series about Pepe Carvalho, an unusual character who is a private investigator and a gourmet based in Barcelona, this novel was published many years ago in Europe and more recently translated with grace a couple of years ago. The publisher is to be congratulated in reprinting and releasing Tattoo and another, The Man of My Life (review to follow shortly), in February, among others in this series. Pepe is a charming rascal, with an intriguing background, having had an apparently successful career before he walked away from the CIA to undertake his more or less relaxed profession in his native Spain.
Pepe is retained for a hefty sum by the husband of a local hairdresser to identify a body pulled out of the sea with a face so badly destroyed that the only identification is a tattoo on the back reading “Born to Raise Hell in Hell.” Barcelona police attribute the death to local prostitutes and drug dealers and sweep up these elements off the street. Pepe’s investigation leads him to Amsterdam, where the victim worked briefly and apparently was involved with a drug gang. But the mystery is not so simple.
The descriptions of Amsterdam, Pepe’s appetite for good food, and observations about Barcelona are all interesting, as is Pepe’s sex life and relations with Charo, his long-time love [who happens to be a full-time prostitute with a high-class clientele], among others.
Sadly, Montalban died in October of 2003, but we are fortunate that he left such worthy works behind.
Recommended
