Mara Faye Lethem Boeken

Marisa is in her 30s and a creative strategist at an advertising agency in Madrid. Her job is about selling things people don't need to people who don't want them, and she can see right through it to the late-capitalist mess we're in. But what to do with this knowledge, other than hide in the basement of the Prado, arm herself with tranquilisers and irony, name her spiralling anxiety 'Berto' after a failed lover, and wonder whether everyone else cries when their alarm wakes them in the morning? Over the course of one hot summer, Marisa moves between her apartment terrace, her office, and her company's retreat in the mountains, as the clock ticks down towards a horrifying 'team-building' weekend. Life can't go on like this - can it? Marisa is bitter but also funny and curious, she loves culture and people - just not like this. This is a book for everyone who has ever wanted more: more time, more meaning, more connection.

Set against the backdrop of the 1889 Paris World's Fair, this gripping tale delves into murder and the art of crime solving. As the world eagerly awaits the unveiling of the Eiffel Tower, the Twelve Detectives—a prestigious society of the globe's most renowned detectives—gather to share their secrets and debate the philosophy of their craft. However, one legendary member, Renato Craig, is absent, sending his novice assistant, Sigmundo Salvatrio, in his place. Salvatrio, a dedicated student from Craig's Academy in Buenos Aires, arrives with a secret message for Craig's best friend and cofounder of The Twelve, Viktor Arzaky. When a member of The Twelve is found dead beneath the Eiffel Tower, a series of grisly murders ensues, propelling Arzaky and Salvatrio into a frantic race through the enchanting streets of Paris. They encounter secret societies and philosophical dilemmas while trying to save a dangerously alluring woman. As they unravel the mystery, they realize the stakes are incredibly high; they must catch the murderer and safeguard the future of their brotherhood. With a strikingly original voice, this narrative captures a pivotal moment in crime-solving history, where wit and intelligence were paramount for detectives navigating a world on the brink of change.

From a dazzling new international voice, an audacious, darkly funny novel about a young woman whose carefully crafted office persona threatens to crack when she’s forced to attend her company’s annual retreat On the surface, Marisa's life looks enviable. She lives in a beautiful apartment in the center of Madrid, she has a hot neighbor who is always around to sleep with her, and she’s quickly risen through the ranks at a successful advertising agency. And yet she’s drowning in a dark hole of existential dread induced by the banality of corporate life. Marisa hates her job and everyone at it. She spends her working hours locked in her office hiding from her coworkers, bingeing YouTube videos, and getting high on tranquilizers. When she has the time, she escapes to her favorite museum where she contemplates the meaning of life while staring at Hieronymus Bosch paintings, or trying to get hit by a car so she can go on disability. But Marisa's dubious success, which is largely built on lies and work she's stolen from other people, is in danger of being exposed when she's forced to go on her company’s team-building retreat. Isolated in the Segovia forests, haunted by the deeply buried memory of a former coworker, and surrounded by psychopathic bosses, overzealous coworkers, flirty retreat staff, and an excess of drugs, Marisa finds herself acting on her wildest impulses and is pushed to the brink of a complete spiral.