The sound of one hand killing

3.2/5 ( ratings)

"Solana's excellent novel, set in the streets and parlors of Barcelona, offers probing social commentary and an excellent crime story."—Booklist

Two detectives, brothers Borja and Eduard, are contracted by best-selling author Teresa Solana to research the world of so-called alternative therapies. They enroll for a course at Zen Moments, an exclusive meditation center in the ritziest part of Barcelona, only to discover the director murdered, whacked in the head with a statuette of the Buddha. The violent death of a neighbor—who happens to be a CIA agent—simultaneously drags them into an international conspiracy complicated by Borja's attempt to smuggle a priceless Assyrian figurine, the Lioness of Baghdad.

In this, the third in her satirical series, Catalan "noir" novelist Teresa Solana mercilessly punctures the pretensions of New Age quacks who promote pseudo-science and pseudo-spirituality. At the same time, Solana draws compassionate portraits of characters trying to live "ordinary" lives in circumstances that have ceased to be normal, yet still cope with such everyday issues as adultery, menopause, and simply surviving to the end of the month.

Born in 1962, Teresa Solana lives in Barcelona, Spain. She has written several novels, some kept quietly in her drawer, others highly acclaimed. A Not So Perfect Crime, the first in this series, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the best Catalan mystery novel.

Peter Bush is the well known translator of Leonardo Padura and Juan Goytisolo.