The Exile (67 page)
Authors: Mark Oldfield
1954,
SAN
SEBASTIAN
: Comandante Guzmán, head of the notorious Brigada Especial, is out of favour and in exile. Franco's one-time favourite secret policeman has been posted to the Basque country, a desolate backwater
â in his eyes â of simmering nationalism, unlikely alliances and ancient vendettas.
Guzmán was last here during the war, at the head of a platoon of bloodthirsty Moorish irregulars. Personally, he'd rather forget all that
â but up in the hills, he'll find that he hasn't been forgotten at all.
The road back to Madrid, to power and influence, is long and treacherous
â especially for a man who is about to find himself cursed, betrayed and on his knees with an executioner's pistol pushed against his skull.
2010,
MADRID
: Guardia Civil Forensic Investigator Ana MarÃa Galindez has been sent to the Basque country where, sealed in the cellar of a ruined building are three skeletons, each bound to a chair, each savagely hacked to death. In the debris surrounding them, a scimitar, stamped with a name: Capitán Leopoldo Guzmán.
Guzmán is the key that will unlock Spain's darkest secrets, the name that will haunt her as she is asked to lead a politically charged investigation into Los Niños Robados
â the thousands of children stolen at birth during the dictatorship â the name that will wake forces that have lain dormant for decades.
Guzmán's name, she'll discover, is a death sentence.
âPolished and impressive. Fans of Kate Mosse will find The Sentinel propulsive.'
Guardian
âSuperbly told, and with a fine villain at its heart, this is a remarkable first thriller that bodes exceptionally well for Oldfield's future.'
Daily Mail
âAn ambitious and strikingly written novel, composed on an epic scale.'
The Good Book Guide
âRemarkably accomplished
...
a credible and atmospheric picture of what life was like under the dictator.'
Literary Review
âA powerful, hypnotic debut novel filled with the horror of conflict, treachery, and intrigue, it's a must read.'
New York Journal of Books
M
ARK
O
LDFIELD
was born in Sheffield, and now lives in Kent. He holds a PhD in criminology.
Follow him on Twitter:
@CentinelaUK
About the Vengeance of Memory series
Comandante Leopoldo Guzmán. Infamous head of Franco's secret police. A man who disappeared from history in 1953, but his secrets live on.
1953, Madrid: Amid the snow-bound streets of an unprecedented winter, the head of Franco's secret police discovers that the web of lies he has spun around his past is beginning to unravel.
2009, Las Peñas: Forensic investigator Ana MarÃa Galindez unearths a mass grave in a disused mine. Her investigation will disturb forces that have lain dormant for decades.
In this journey into the dark heart of Spain, Guzmán is the link between past and present in a country still scarred by civil war, still riven by fear and hatred, and still plagued by secrets that refuse to die...
The Sentinel
is available
here
.
1954,
SAN
SEBASTIAN
: Comandante Guzmán, head of the notorious Brigada Especial, is out of favour and in exile. Franco's one-time favourite secret policeman has been posted to the Basque country, a desolate backwater
â in his eyes â of simmering nationalism, unlikely alliances and ancient vendettas.
Guzmán was last here during the war, at the head of a platoon of bloodthirsty Moorish irregulars. Personally, he'd rather forget all that
â but up in the hills, he'll find that he hasn't been forgotten at all.
The road back to Madrid, to power and influence, is long and treacherous
â especially for a man who is about to find himself cursed, betrayed and on his knees with an executioner's pistol pushed against his skull.
2010,
MADRID
: Guardia Civil Forensic Investigator Ana MarÃa Galindez has been sent to the Basque country where, sealed in the cellar of a ruined building are three skeletons, each bound to a chair, each savagely hacked to death. In the debris surrounding them, a scimitar, stamped with a name: Capitán Leopoldo Guzmán.
Guzmán is the key that will unlock Spain's darkest secrets, the name that will haunt her as she is asked to lead a politically charged investigation into Los Niños Robados
â the thousands of children stolen at birth during the dictatorship â the name that will wake forces that have lain dormant for decades.
Guzmán's name, she'll discover, is a death sentence.
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The story starts here.
First published in the UK in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Mark Oldfield, 2015
The moral right of Mark Oldfield to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781781851517
ISBN (XTPB) 9781781851524
ISBN (E) 9781781851548
Jacket Design and image © Ghost
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
Contents
SAN SEBASTIÃN, THURSDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 1954
SAN SEBASTIÃN, OCTOBER 1954, HOTEL ALMEJA
MADRID, JULY 2010, CALLE MONTERA
MADRID 2010, CUARTEL GENERAL DE LA GUARDIA CIVIL