Game of mirrors to reinvent the black novel

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Dear reader:

It will not escape you that this is an unusual way to start an article, even though, in your indulgence, you feel that you can have more creative tolerance in information that talks about literature than in other areas such as politics or events.

It is not a matter of disrespect but an opportunity to show that the ability to spread news goes far beyond gender.

The analogy serves as an introduction to the first novel that I would like to tell you about, as you can see there is nothing more unusual in the press than an editor showing his cheap tricks to get his attention.

And it is that the letters must be above all honest.

To say that

's book 'The Appeal' (Attic of Books) is just a crime novel is an understatement.

It is as if someone had had access to the private messages of a group of people who share common interests, in this case their passion for theater and helping in the face of a family misfortune in the form of cancer, to unravel all their relationships, from the most sincere to the most toxic, from the hypocrisy installed as a social status to the honesty of those who come to a community.

Unlike other works in which the writer guides the reader, here Hallett limits himself to exposing messages, emails and documents so that we discover the culprit, so that we are able to solve a mystery that is in "those private conversations that differ a lot from the plots that we usually find in crime novels and thrillers these days".

In conversation with this medium, the writer recalls that all communities "keep secrets" so her book allows you to look "under the rug or see between the curtains."

He assures that his novel "offers the reader a total and immersive experience" similar to other creative and artistic ones that we find today, such as video games, movies or series.

"It is an experience that is there for the consumer of culture" he points out, in addition to describing his work as a "happy accident" since "when I started writing I did not have a plan regarding it, it was not something that I set out to do" but " I focused on the dialogues, on the interaction that the protagonists have", applying his expertise when working as a screenwriter: "It was not deliberate but I am very happy with the result obtained".

Undoubtedly the main novelty of this book is in the genre used by the author, an adaptation of the epistolary novels, mixed with some other document and even with mobile phone messages.

In this way, the reader is introduced to a community that has a lot to hide, with 15 possible suspects in a crime, in the idyllic English town of Lockwood.

Although there is a convicted person in prison, the lawyer handling the case believes that he is innocent and orders his interns, Charlotte and Femi, to review all the evidence, mainly emails.

The reader proceeds with them in a mystery that takes many unexpected turns.

Janice Hallett in Barcelona

Precisely using emails, a modern communication method, has allowed the author to "connect" with younger readers, aged 18 to 20, who have attended the presentations in the United Kingdom.

However, she adds that the way of relating continues to evolve rapidly and now everything is shorter and briefer instant messages, like those of telephony applications and that is why she plans to incorporate them in her next novel.

under the volcano

If you have come this far, I must thank you for your show of trust.

Using a letter to publicize news can be risky due to misunderstanding of the epistolary genre to inform, as when the image reflected in a mirror is forced to show all angles.

Sometimes you show the edges for wanting to be too transparent.

That was the danger of

's book , 'Arena Negra' (Duomo editions), being compared to another Sicilian writer of crime novels who has become a universal reference in the genre.

And it is that the character of Cassar Scalia, Deputy Commissioner Giovanna Garrasi, known as Vanina, is much more than "Montalbano made a woman", as some critics have said in reference to the immortal character of

They share naturalness to report an investigation of a crime, with the difficulty that occurred many years ago, at the same time that they distill an exaltation for a way of understanding life that is totally mimetic with nature, gastronomy or the passion of Sicily.

But the protagonist of 'Arena Negra' is not just a reflection in the 'Montalban mirror'.

It is clear that Cassar Scalia appreciates and uses the influence to give a twist to the Sicilian noir genre, created by

although Camilleri globalized it, but endowing it with an irony, humanity and ingenuity that make it have a voice of its own.

Hand in hand with her, we delve into a mystery after finding the body of a mummified woman in a villa abandoned since 1959.

Detail of the cover of the book 'Arena negra'

With this premise and with the constant presence of the ash of Etna, a fabulous volcanic time tunnel whose presence has marked generations of Sicilians, the writer weaves a novel that weaves the past and the present without disdaining the protagonist's own conflicts, of course, related to the mafia, another permanent existence in this corner of the world.

It is precisely that closeness of the language used with the reader together with the way of unraveling the mystery that allows the author to overcome any hateful comparison, generating a gallery of very attractive characters that guarantee an immersion from another angle in the Sicilian noir genre.

I hope, dear reader, that you have enjoyed this joint journey for two of the many literary recommendations that I could give you.

Sometimes it is not enough to break the rules or rebel against typecasting, the fundamental thing is to be able to convey the uniqueness of what you want to tell, no matter how much it is easier to sell your product, for commercial reasons, to be labeled as being 'the new

or the new Andra Camilleri'.

Without disdaining your references, you have to be brave to bet on revitalizing and revising genres that are increasingly lacking in originality, such as crime novels or journalism.

But we leave that necessary self-criticism for another letter.

Sincerely

g.

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