The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories

IAN RANKIN TWEET: This hugely imaginative collection of (mostly crime)

(mostly Barcelona-based) short stories comes out in August. The

‘Connections’ sequence, in particular, is terrific.

The Times: "Teresa Solana, already Barcelona’s wittiest satirist, excels herself with The First Prehistoric Serial Killer, a collection of blackly humorous short stories. It’s a laugh-out-loud gem of surrealism. The book ’s title story explains how the planet’s first detective investigated a

murder. Eight other linked stories deal with disparate topics, each with a

crime slant — including hating Mozart, being an interpreter at a gathering of gangsters and how to hide dodgy money. Just as you think there cannot be

yet another funny twist, Solana comes up with three more, each more

outrageous than its predecessor."

Publishers Weekly: "This subtly inventive story collection from Spanish author Solana (The Sound of One Hand Killing) floats effortlessly from whimsy to horror, from exploring the inner life of ghosts to witnessing a

murderous gang fight. ...Solana’s understated narratives allow the criminality or weirdness to build until the reader is unexpectedly immersed in it. All are well worth reading."

ShotsMag: "If none of these crime short stories wins a prize this year the judges will have proved they have no sense of humour. To be blunt, I can’t

recall a cleverer comic crime story collection."