Black Sun Rising

Black Sun Rising is an engaging historical thriller set in 1909 Barcelona, a time when leftist groups—radicals, anarchists, syndicalists—were fighting one another and also fighting a national government that had begun leaning toward fascism. Matthew Carr deftly juggles several narrative threads in this novel, pulling them together to a surprising conclusion.

One thread follows Harry Lawton, a British private detective forced to leave a job with Scotland Yard due to the onset of epilepsy. Another focuses on a small group of "scientists" and explorers who hope eugenics can produce a "master race" (if that rings any bells, it should). A third involves Bernat Mata, a left-leaning journalist indebted to his wealthy father-in-law, and show more Esperanza Claramunt, a young anarchist whose father was tortured to death by government forces when she was a young girl and who Mata championed in his reporting. The novel opens with an anarchist bombing and moves back and forth among the many threads it contains, which means readers are engaged from the first and never lose that initial excitement.

The central mystery is rather improbable, but the strong characterizations override that potential weakness. The individuals seem real, even if parts of the mystery they're tangled up in don't. I have no idea whether Carr plans this novel as the first in a series. The ending is ambiguous enough to leave that in doubt, but I would welcome seeing where Harry Lawton winds up next.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus. The opinions are my own. show less