The mayor of Barcelona is being blackmailed.

A sex tape from her student days - one she never knew existed. The price: 300,000 euros and her immediate resignation.

A political chameleon who swept to power on a populist wave, she has her enemies. Nor can she trust those closest to her. Both her ex-husband and her deputy would profit from her fall.

Melchor Marín, living a quiet life in Terra Alta, is tempted back to Barcelona to work the case. But what seemed a simple matter has its roots in far more serious and disturbing crimes.

With the mayor on the verge of capitulation, a shock revelation changes everything - not least the course of Melchor's life. At long last, his heart's dark desire is in his grasp.

Praise for Even the Darkest Night

"A gem of a book, easily the best I've read this year" M W Craven

"A wonderful novel. I look forward to many more Melchor stories" A N Wilson

"The first in what promises to be an excellent series" Guardian

Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean

This novel is not just good, it's great -- Álvaro Colomer * Diari Ara *
Cercas' best. A terrific novel -- José María Pozuelo Yvancos * ABC Cultural *
The new Cercas shines brightly -- Jordi Amat * La Vanguardia *

A courageous Javier Cercas seeks to give an allegorical dimension to social observation,
and succeeds ... a committed moral novel and belligerent tale of denunciation

Javier Cercas was born in 1962. He is a novelist, short-story writer and columnist, whose books include Soldiers of Salamis (which sold more than a million copies worldwide, won six literary awards in Spain and was filmed by David Trueba), The Tenant and The Motive, The Speed of Light and The Anatomy of a Moment. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. He lives in Barcelona.