THE VANISHED HANDS

In Wilson's intricate police procedural set in Seville, Spain—the second to feature introspective detective Javier Falcón—a wealthy couple is found dead in their home: Lucia Vega has been suffocated in her own bed; her husband, construction magnate Rafael Vega, is lying on the kitchen floor, poisoned, with a cryptic note in his hand. Is it a murder-suicide—or something more sinister? Falcón's subsequent investigation reveals a vast criminal conspiracy involving the Russian mafia (crime writing's new favorite bad guys) and human trafficking for prostitution and child pornography (crime writing's new favorite transgressions). As usual, Wilson deftly deploys a vast cast of characters, from an ex-pat American couple to a popular Spanish actor, and spins his trademark web of corruption and deceit. But while Falcón is consistently compelling, struggling with his internal demons and with the challenge of ridding Seville of its moral bankruptcy, the plot itself is too complex to really be engaging. In addition, too many references to the first Falcón novel, The Blind Man of Seville , will confuse new readers. The story of one young Russian prostitute—she's promised a job as a waitress in Portugal and ends up working the streets in Spain—is a chilling reminder of the evil that men do, but her frightening tale is lost in the convoluted story. Agent, Anthony Sheil at Gillon Aitken. (Jan. 3)