Ibiza, one of the locations of El mal de Corcira
The evil of Corcira is a novel by the prominent Spanish writer Lorenzo Silva. Released in June 2020, it is the latest installment in the acclaimed series Bevilacqua and Chamorro. Once again, and as usual, the author re-publishes after two years a new chapter of the series that began in 1998. Like the previous ones, it is a plot belonging to the police genre.
Silva has confessed that he always wanted to tell this story, which is a debt that he has finally paid off with his readers. After publishing his work, he stated: “The result is the most extensive and perhaps the most complex delivery in the series”. In this, in addition to solving a crime, we can learn more about the youth of the protagonist and his experiences as an antiterrorist agent.
Summary of The evil of Corcira
New case
The agents Rubén Bevilacqua —Vila— and Virginia Chamorro, find themselves after the capture of some criminals. During that night, the brigadista is injured and sent to the hospital. While recovering, Vila receives a call from Lieutenant General Pereira, who assigns him a new case. On a beach in Formentera, a dead man has appeared, stripped of his clothes and cruelly wounded.
First signs
After interviewing several witnesses in the area, initially conclude that it may be a crime of passion. This is because many claimed to have seen the victim in the company of other young people in local clubs in Ibiza. Also, he had arranged to meet a man that night on the coast. But, all this conjecture changes when they manage to discover the identity of the deceased.
He is the Basque Igor López Etxebarri, a former member of the ETA band, who spent a long time in jail in Madrid. Due to this background, the high command assigns Vila the investigation of the homicide. To do this, he must travel to Guipúzcoa, a province where López Etxebarri regularly lived, a place that the second lieutenant has known perfectly for decades.
Parallel stories
During the investigations, he goes through several chapters of life —Personal and work— of the deceased, in order to clarify the murder. At the same time, Vila recalls its beginnings in the Intxaurrondo barracks, when he fought terrorism. The agent takes a trip back in time by remembering all the preparation they received for the operations and those hard moments in action.
This is how the story unfolds, between the past and present experiences of the intrepid protagonist. Various plots are described, between them, the difficult times in Spain due to the ETA attacks, and how Vila, at only 26 years old, was able to face them fiercely. At the same time, the brigadista solves the mysterious case that was assigned to him.
Analysis of The evil of Corcira
Basic details of the work
The evil of Corcira is a novel that has 540 pages, divided into 30 chapters and an epilogue. The plot takes place in two locations: first on the Spanish island of Formentera de Ibiza, and then it moves to Guipúzcoa. The story is told in the first person by its protagonist, with detailed and accurate descriptions.
Characters
Ruben Bevilacqua (Vila)
He's the main character of the series, a 54-year-old man with a degree in psychology, who he works as a second lieutenant in the Civil Guard. He belongs to the Central Operational Unit, an elite group to solve crimes. He is a perspicacious, observant and tenacious agent, who does not miss the details.
Igor Lopez Etxebarri
He is the victim of the case assigned to Vila, this man comes from the Basque Country and He was a collaborator of the ETA group. Due to his actions, he was detained for 10 years in the Francia and Alcalá Meco jail in Madrid. Due to the rejection of his colleagues, he hid his sexual orientation for many years.
Other characters
In this installment, Vila will have Álamo as a companion —an insolent and reckless agent—, since his police partner is on rest. Although Chamorro will not be in full action, Vila will always maintain telephone communication with her. Another outstanding participation is that of the brigadista Ruano, an excellent professional and with a lot of creativity.
Curiosities of The evil of Corcira
Author preparation
Silva had this story in mind since the saga began in the 90s.. For this reason, it carried out an arduous investigation into terrorism for decades. It is a difficult issue to tackle, since the terrorist group ETA caused a lot of damage to the population and the Civil Guard. Once the band is dismantled, the author managed to collect testimonies from agents and civilians survivors of that time.
In an interview XL Weekly, Silva expressed: "Until ETA was defeated, the Civil Guard did not release a pledge. Not even me. And now they have told me everything with great generosity ”. The author dedicated ten chapters of the book to this delicate subject, using the experiences of agent Bevilacqua, his anti-terrorist police fight and his triumph.
Opinions on The evil of Corcira
Since its launch in 2020, The evil of Corcira it has been well received by readers, who were eagerly awaiting another adventure from agents Bevilacqua and Chamorra. On the web it stands out with more than 77% acceptance, as well as hundreds of positive opinions. On the platform Amazon It has 1.591 ratings, of which 53% gave it 5 stars and 9% gave it 3 or less.
About the author, Lorenzo Silva
Lorenzo Manuel Silva Amador He was born on Tuesday, June 7, 1966 in the maternity ward of the Gómez Ulla military hospital, located in the city of Madrid (between the Latina district and Carabanchel). During his early years, he lived in Cuatro Vientos, near his hometown. Later, he lived in other Madrid cities, such as Getafe.
Lawrence Silva
He graduated as a lawyer from the Complutense University of Madrid and worked for 10 years (1992-2002) in the Spanish business group Union Fenosa. In 1980 he began to flirt with literature, wrote several stories, essays, poetry books, among others. In 1995, he presented his first novel: November without violets, followed a year later by The inner substance (1996)
In 1997 the Nostalgia trilogy with: The Weakness of the Bolshevik, narrative that was adapted to the cinema in 2003 with a script by the author together with Manuel Martin Cuenca. In 2000 he presented one of his most outstanding works: The impatient alchemist, second installment of the series Bevilacqua and Chamorro. This novel received the Nadal award that same year.
In 2012,, published Brand Meridian -saga Bevilacqua and Chamorro—, narrative that won the Planeta award (2012). This successful series has already had ten books, the last of them is The evil of Corcira (2020). With that, the author has built a robust literary career, with more than 30 novels translated into a dozen languages, and with which it has reached millions of readers.