The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman

July 4, 2016
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by Solea, the prettiest staffer, accompanying her to Granada with the promise of a hidden literary treasure, the unpublished poems of famed poet Garcia Lorca.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.