The liar
The liar is the first volume of Illumbe, a mystery and suspense series written by Basque sociologist, software engineer, musician and author Mikel Santiago. The work was published by the B de Books publishing house in 2020, followed by titles such as In the middle of the night (2021) and Among the dead (2022), all commercially successful books within the genre.
The liar It is a slow-paced novel, full of secrets capable of destroying lives. With this text, Santiago strengthens his relationship with his old readers and creates solid ties with new ones. Likewise, the author exposes himself on his YouTube channel saying that “all writers are somewhat liars and criminals.” This premise, completely true, allows literary creators to maintain convoluted and fascinating fictions that captivate their audience; Writing, then, just as it is about creating, it is also about lying in the process, but doing it well.
Synopsis of The liar
Memento
When Alex opens his eyes, the first thing he notices is that he is lying on the floor of an abandoned factory. Next to him there is a sharp stone covered in blood, in addition to the another man's body. The protagonist looks at him intently, sees his empty and apparently cynical eyes, his open mouth and his rigor, and understands that he has been dead for a few hours. Who did it? Was it Alex himself? Fleeing the factory, he sets out to investigate the events that brought him there.
There is only one problem: Alex has no memory of what happened in the last forty-eight hours.. What he does remember is best kept secret, so reconstructing the events will be much more complicated than it initially seemed.
Then, the protagonist is forced to resort to his most recent memory and leave from there towards the moment of his awakening next to the corpse. Meanwhile, she must deal with a murder investigation.
The time of liars
The liar proposes an investigation against the clock in which Alex must act alone, as he is the main suspect in the crime.. While the protagonist tries to put together the pieces of his battered memory—describing himself to the reader as a gardener with high criminal skills—he sees the dark side of Illumbe, a small town in the Basque Country surrounded by high cliffs on the seashore, where the inhabitants They hide their true intentions behind the doors of their houses cracked by the storms.
The seemingly innocent community of Illumbe navigates the winding roads overlooking the ocean. Each resident seems to have nothing to hide from the rest, but their cordial and affectionate attitude is nothing more than a facade.. Although Alex is not blameless, the people around him could have more to say about the events that occurred in the factory than he himself. The protagonist is an expert liar, but he is not the only one.
Narrative style of Mikel Santiago
Mikel Santiago usually places his novels in highly literary places, that is, with the necessary characteristics to create a credible fiction that captivates the reader. In the case of The liar, The author presents an easy-to-understand narrative, with clear timelines and a calm rhythm. In the novel there are moments that are more hectic than others, but it never explodes dizzily, as other titles of the genre do.
In addition, The liar Features notable references to masters of crime fiction and suspense, such as Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stephen King. With this book, Mikel Santiago departs a little from the supernatural tone of novels like The last night at Tremore Beach o The island of the last voices, and draws on the police genre like never before, although without losing its own voice, always logical and methodical.
Mikel Santiago is a coherent author
In general, the plots captured by Santiago follow a specific and linear pattern. The writer focuses on the relationships between the characters and the credibility of the situation more than generating surprising scenes. This influences the ending of The liar, because, although it is not a moment of ecstasy as could occur in books like The butterfly swamp, by Federico Axat, does feel coherent with the rest of the work.
Part of the charm of The liar is that It is a very visual novel. It is easy to imagine the wonderfully described settings, the characters and the most tense scenes. Although the plot takes place in a fictional town, the author mentions real places, so it would be possible to create literary routes of Illumbe or even a film production inspired by the entire trilogy.
About the author, Mikel Santiago
Michael Santiago
Mikel Santiago Garaikoetxea was born in 1975, in Portugalete, Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain. He studied his high school at a private educational center called Asti-Leku Ikastola. After graduating, He completed a degree in Sociology from the University of Deusto. Throughout his life he has stayed in several cities, including the Netherlands, Ireland and Bilbao. In addition to writing, Santiago dedicates time to his rock band and software engineering.
Mikel Santiago's literary career began on the Internet, where he edited several publications thanks to a platform that allows books to be distributed to large publishers, such as Barnes & Noble and iBooks. Later, Three of his story books were on the list of the 10 best sellers in the United States. Later, Ediciones B published his first novel, which sold more than 40.000 copies.
Other books by Mikel Santiago
Novels
- The last night at Tremore Beach (2014);
- The bad way (2015);
- Tom Harvey's strange summer (2017);
- The island of the last voices (2018);
Editorial chronology of the Illumbe Trilogy
- The liar (2020);
- In the middle of the night (2021);
- Among the dead (2022)
stories
- Story of a perfect crime (2010);
- The island of a hundred eyes (2010);
- the black dog (2012);
- Night of Souls and other horror stories (2013);
- The Trace, a paper compilation of stories (2019)