Fortress Of Evil – Javier Cercas

He’s already prejudiced you against me…Tell me, who told you about him? How did you know where he lived?” “I asked you a question.” “And I’ve asked you two.” Now Mattson smiles with a mischievous glint in his eyes, as if the exchange of demands has amused him, and his smooth face fills with wrinkles on his forehead and at the edges of his mouth; then, still smiling, he is serious again. “Hey, let’s behave like reasonable people, shall we?” “Tell me if my daughter is here or not.”

Mattson sighs and, as if arming himself with stoicism, he shakes his head back and forth. “Of course not. She was, but she’s not anymore. When did she arrive? Tuesday, Wednesday? I don’t remember. She showed up with a friend… Poor thing. She was a little nervous, a bit disoriented. It’s what happens to so many teenagers, I have daughters too, you know?…She told us that she’d been left alone, that the friend she’d come to Mallorca with had left and she didn’t have enough money to pay for her hotel.

So we took her in as best we could. It’s what I do with lots of girls in her situation. Help them. Give them a chance. I bet that’s not what the guardia civil told you.” “Where is she now?” “Your daughter? I don’t know. Not here, for sure. I think she left last night.

Or maybe this morning. I’ve been away and …Have you lost your phone? Here, call her from mine.” Melchor takes the phone and walks away from Mattson and calls Cosette. Her mobile is still off. “No answer?” Mattson asks. “I told you she’s a bit disoriented. I don’t know your daughter very well, but I thought she was a great girl. What if you try calling her hotel? It’s the same one you’re staying at, isn’t it?” Melchor uses the internet connection on Mattson’s phone to look up the phone number of the Hostal Borràs.

“I’m sure she’ll be there, you’ll see,” the Swedish-born tycoon says. “Do you know why I had you brought here? To apologise. Although the truth is what has happened is not my fault…Taking you by force, who would even consider such a thing. But you can imagine how these things go, there are always people too eager to please and they go overboard.”

“You mean Benavides?”

“Exceptional…. Combine[s] elements of a good crime novel with elements of praiseworthy mainstream fiction—dare I say ‘great literature’?” —George Easter, Deadly Pleasures “Impeccable…. Cercas is unafraid to explore his characters’ emotions, which, instead of toning down the narrative, deepens its impact.” —El Periódico (Spain) “An immersive examination of the moral and emotional strains brought about by a heinous crime.” —Irish Independent “Remarkably compelling…. Cercas has created a complicated and conflicted hero to follow through multiple books, [plus] secondary characters we recognize and greet on the page as old acquaintances, whose lives we know intimately and follow as eagerly as we would family members.”

—Los Angeles Review of Books “A resounding success…. Cercas once again proves himself a remarkable storyteller.” —Les Echos (France) “I confess I was worried when I heard Javier Cercas was going to write a detective novel. Who would want one of the best writers in our language, author of several masterpieces, to write a novel that amounts to a riddle?

But after reading these three books, especially the last one, I have no objection…. In literature, the most important thing will never be to identify a murderer but rather to change the lives of the people who read it, revealing to them the greater complexity of the real world…. This is a novel —a series of novels—that acts as a balm for the miseries we see around us at every moment.”

—Mario Vargas Llosa, El País “Impresses with its power.” —Le Figaro “A master class on what the novel is and what the novel could be in the course of this troubled century.” —Tuttolibri (TTL), La Stampa “It stays in the memory…. Cercas perfectly captures the fearful mood.”

—The Sunday Times (London) “Cercas weaves a formidable story, admirably served by his unparalleled ability to embrace the world through the most intimate details.” —Page des libraires “A narrative of extraordinary modern strength and effectiveness.” —Il Giornale OceanofPDF.com JAVIER CERCAS Fortress of Evil Javier Cercas was born in Spain in 1962. He is a novelist and columnist, and he has received numerous international awards.

His books include Soldiers of Salamis (which has sold more than a million copies worldwide), The Anatomy of a Moment, The Tenant and The Motive, The Speed of Light, and The Impostor. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages. He lives in Barcelona. OceanofPDF.com books by javier cercas Soldiers of Salamis The Tenant and The Motive The Speed of Light The Anatomy of a Moment Outlaws The Impostor Lord of All the Dead The Terra Alta Trilogy Even the Darkest Night Prey for the Shadow Fortress of Evil OceanofPDF.com OceanofPDF.com A VINTAGE BOOKS U.S.

ORIGINAL 2026 English language translation copyright © 2025 by Anne McLean Penguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 9ca0b14becce4fda
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,612,672 bytes (3.445 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9798217007516, 9798217007523
• Pages: 335
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 542.53 minutes
• Total Words: 108,506
• Total Characters: 611,107
• Average Words per Page: 323.9
• Average Characters per Page: 1824.2

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