The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A fiendishly fun and charming novel with the quirky appeal of a Pedro Almodóvar film—this feel-good read follows a tightly wound Englishman whose trip to Madrid takes an unexpected turn when he encounters a group of strong-minded women who will do anything to keep the jobs they love.
Atticus Craftsman never travels without a supply of Earl Grey, an electric kettle, and a teacup—so he makes sure he has packed all three after his father, distinguished publishers of Craftsman & Co., sends him to Madrid to shut down a failing literary magazine, Librarte. But when nobody has heard from Atticus in three months, his father knows something must be very wrong.
Fortunately, Inspector Manchego is on the case. Manchego gets to work unraveling the mystery of the Englishman’s disappearance, but there to block him at every turn are the five fiery and close-knit Spanish women who run Librarte and must devise a plan to save the magazine. A botched kidnapping and the rumored discovery of a trove of long-lost Federico García Lorca poems propel Atticus—with Manchego hot on his trail—on a madcap journey through the narrow streets of Madrid and down to the bohemian heart of Andalucía.
Sánchez spellbinds us with larger-than-life characters and heartfelt emotions in this charming tale of clashing cultures and unlikely romance. The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman is at once a humorous, literary caper and a touching love story, marking for an altogether clever and delightfully different read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sanchez offers her first novel in English, a lighthearted, madcap romantic comedy set in 2012 Madrid, beginning with the three-month disappearance of a proper, stuffy Englishman on an unpleasant mission. Atticus Craftsman, son of a wealthy British publisher, is sent to Madrid to close the company's failing Spanish-language literary magazine, Librarte, and fire its staff of five women. The women, led by their redoubtable editor, Berta Quinones, are frantic with worry and desperate to save their jobs. They concoct a goofy plan to distract Atticus while they think up a way to change his mind. Atticus is clueless, gullible, and easily manipulated by Solea, the prettiest staffer, accompanying her to Granada with the promise of a hidden literary treasure, the unpublished poems of famed poet Garcia Lorca. His sudden disappearance alarms his father and draws the attention of Inspector Manchego, a Madrid police detective whose curiosity is only matched by his incompetence and his lust for Berta. Meanwhile, one of the five women hides a secret, the reason for the magazine's failure. Hilarious deceptions lead to slapstick fistfights, chases, errant gunshots, and passionate declarations of love. This is a tremendously entertaining read.
