Jason Webster

Sent on leave after his last, brutal, case, Max Camara returns to his home town in La Mancha, famous for producing the finest saffron in the world. There, the past keeps pulling at him. The town is exhuming a mass grave from the Civil War, but why is his grandfather behaving so strangely? His old friend Yago is investigating a particularly nasty murder which sets off memories Max has been trying to bury for years. And then there are Yago's whisperings about a saffron mafia...Max finds himself plunged into the thick of a complex and intensely personal case that will put him in severe danger and have him questioning his past - and his future in the police.

Having pursued a conventional enough path through school and university, Jason Webster was all set to enter the world of academe as a profession. But when his aloof Florentine girlfriend of some years dumped him unceremoniously, he found himself at a crossroads. Abandoning the world of libraries and the future he had always imagined for himself, he headed off instead for Spain in search of duende, the intense emotional state - part ecstasy, part desperation - so intrinsic to flamenco. DUENDE is an account of his years spent in Spain feeding his obsessive interest in flamenco: he subjects himself to the tyranny of his guitar teacher, practising for hours on end until his fingers bleed; he becomes involved in a passionate affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer (and older woman) married to the gun-toting Vicente, only to flee Alicante in fear of his life; in Madrid, he falls in with Gypsies and meets the imperious Jes?s. Joining their dislocated, cocaine-fuelled world, stealing cars by night and sleeping away the days in tawdry rooms, he finds himself spiralling self-destructively downwards.It is only when he arrives in Granada bruised and battered, after two years total immersion in the flamenco lifestyle that he is able to put his obsession into context. In the tradition of Laurie Lee''s classic AS I WALKED OUT ONE MIDSUMMER MORNING, DUENDE charts a young man''s emotional coming of age and offers real insight into the passionate essence of flamenco.

After twelve years in Spain, Jason Webster had developed a deep love for his adopted homeland; his life there seemed complete. But when he and his Spanish wife moved into an idyllic old farmhouse in the mountains north of Valencia, by chance he found an unmarked mass grave from the Spanish Civil War on his doorstep. Spurred to investigate the history of the Civil War, a topic many of his Spanish friends still seemed to treat as taboo, he began to uncover a darker side to the country. Witness to a brutal fist-fight sponsored by remnants of Franco''s Falangists, arrested and threatened by the police in the former HQ of the Spanish Foreign Legion, sheltered by a beautiful transvestite, shunned by locals, haunted by ghosts and finally robbed of his identity, Webster encountered a legacy of cruelty and violence that seems to linger on seventy years after the bloody events of that war. As in Webster''s previous books, "Duende" and "Andalus", !"Guerra"! reveals the essence of modern Spain, which few outsiders ever manage to see. Fascinating true stories from the Civil War, vividly retold as he travels around the country.Yet the more Webster unveils of the passions that set one countryman against another, the more he is led to wonder: could the dark, primitive currents that ripped the country apart in the 1930s still be stirring under the sophisticated, worldly surface of today''s Spain?

Spain is corrupt and on the brink of collapse. The king is ill, banks are closing, hospitals are in chaos, homes are lost, demonstrators riot and rightwing thugs patrol the street. The tunnels beneath the streets are at once a refuge and a source of anger. And as the blood flows Camara roars in on his motorbike...Camara is back in Valencia and in the old police headquarters the mood is tense as the chief hunts for cuts - who will go, Camara or his friend Torres? The two men are flung into action investigating the suicide of an ex- bank clerk and the brutal murder of a young American woman. As the city erupts around them, their case takes them into the heart of the trouble.

This is a romantic, utterly alluring leap into Spanish sunshine, remote mountains and rural life. Jason Webster had lived in Spain for several years before he and his partner, the flamenco dancer Salud, decided to buy a deserted farmhouse clinging to the side of a steep valley in the eastern province of Castellon, near the sacred peak of Penaglosa. With help from local farmers-and from a twelfth-century Moorish book on gardening-Jason set about creating his dream. He had never farmed before, and knew nothing of plants, but slowly he and Salud cleared the land, planted and harvested their olives, raised the healing herbs they learned about from local people, set up bee-hives and nurtured precious, expensive truffles, the black gold of the region. And beyond all this they started to fulfil another vision, bringing the native trees back to the cliffs ravaged by fire. At the same time they became drawn into the life of the valley: this is a book rich with characters as well as plants.

Ésta es la historia de un joven que busca su destino, y que tal vez acabe encontrándolo muy lejos de sus raíces británicas, en un rincón perdido de Andalucía. Su viaje de búsqueda empieza cuando un desengaño amoroso le impulsa a viajar a España..CONTINÚA

Sent on leave after his last, brutal, case, Max Cámara returns to his home town in La Mancha, famous for producing the finest saffron in the world. There, the past keeps pulling at him. The town is exhuming a mass grave from the Civil War, but why is his grandfather behaving so strangely? His old friend Yago is investigating a particularly nasty murder which sets off memories Max has been trying to bury for years. And then there are Yagos whisperings about a saffron mafia...Max finds himself plunged into the thick of a complex and intensely personal case that will put him in severe danger and have him questioning his past and his future in the police.

Este es un relato romántico sobre la fascinación del sol español, sus alejadas montañas y su vida rural. El autor de esta obra, Jason Webster, vivió en España durante varios años antes de que él y su socio, el bailarín Salud del flamenco, se decidieran a comprar un cortijo abandonado que se aferra en la ladera de un valle escarpado en la provincia del este de Castellón, cerca del pico sagrado de Penaglosa. Con ayuda de granjeros locales - y de un libro morisco del siglo XII sobre cultivos del huerto - Jason comenzó a forjar su sueño. Él nunca había cultivado antes y no sabía nada de plantas, pero lentamente él y Salud despejaron la tierra, plantaron y cosecharon sus aceitunas, las hierbas curativas y consolidaron los enclaves de las preciosas trufas, el oro negro de la región. Y más allá de todo el esto comenzaron a satisfacer otra visión, trayendo los árboles nativos de nuevo a los acantilados devastados por el fuego. A través de esta magnífica obra seguirás a los aldeanos de las lluvias del invierno al calor del verano, del florecimiento de los almendros a los ardientes festivales y a los antiguos peregrinajes, plagados de historias de cátaros y templarios ...

Una pareja compra una casa de campo en ruinas, en un paraje solitario y olvidado del interior de Castellón, y durante un año lucha por reconstruir la vivienda, limpiar los campos, plantar árboles, y hacer frente a toda clase de adversidades. Su objetivo, regresar a una vida mas autentica, mas proxima a la naturaleza, a los ultimos habitantes de la comarca, a la historia y las leyendas de unas tierras situadas al pie de una montaña sagrada, Penyagolosa, cerca de donde encontraron refugio los ultimos cataros. En la linea del best seller Entre limones, pero mucho mejor , segun The Daily Telegraph, tambien aqui un ingles nos redescubre la belleza y la magia de algunos de los ultimos rincones paradisiacos que aun hay en España.

Se trata de un libro de viajes y a la vez un libro de historia, en una feliz combinación que aporta una visión joven, moderna y equilibrada de la guerra civil española. Un texto que asombra por su amenidad y su enfoque novedoso, en donde importa sobre todo la actualidad. Una magnifica introduccion que atraera a las generaciones que no quieren ni oir hablar del pasado, a traves de una sorprendente cronica del presente. Por un lado, el autor realiza un recorrido por los principales personajes, batallas y escenarios de la contienda. Por otro, recorre la España de nuestros dias en pos de muestras de que las heridas de la guerra civil siguen abiertas. No solo las fosas comunes, el Valle de los Caidos y el lugar donde yacen los huesos de Garcia Lorca, sino ejemplos tan inesperados como un combate de boxeo ilegal, un travesti que es fan del revisionismo historico, la retransmision de un partido de futbol vista en un bar

Either you kill the bull, or the bull kills you - traditional proverb.Chief Inspector Max Cámara hates bullfighting but one hot afternoon in Valencia he has to replace his boss, judging a festival corrida that stars Spains most famous young matador. That night, he is summoned back to the bullring where the young matadors dead body now lies, naked and mutilated. As the city prepares for Fallas, the five day festival of fireworks and celebrations, and the politicians work feverishly towards an election, Camara hunts down his prey through the citys streets and bars. But as he follows the trail of death, money, corruption and sex in search of the killer, he must also battle his own demons and desires...

He fought on both sides in the Spanish Civil War. He was awarded the Iron Cross by Hitler and an MBE by Britain. To MI5 he was known as Garbo. To the Abwehr, he was Alaric. He also went by Rags the Indian Poet, Mrs Gerbers, Stanley the Welsh Nationalist and 24 other names. He tricked Hitler over D-Day. He was the greatest double agent in history.But who, exactly, was Juan Pujol? Using his intimate knowledge of Spain and his skills as a crime novelist, Jason Webster tells for the first time the full true story of the character who captured the imagination in Ben Macintyres Double Cross. He tells of Pujols early life in Spain, his determination to fight totalitarianism and his strange journey from German spy to MI5. Working for the British, whom he saw as the exemplars of freedom and democracy, he created a bizarre fictional network of spies 29 of them that misled the entire German high command, including Hitler himself. Above all, in Operation Fortitude he diverted German Panzer divisions away from Normandy, playing a crucial role in safeguarding D-Day and ending the war, and securing his reputation as the most successful double agent of the war. Meticulously researched, yet told with the verve of a thriller, The Spy with 29 Names uncovers the truth far stranger than any fiction about the spy behind one of recent historys most important and dramatic events.

Tensions in Spain are rising: political violence and social unrest have suddenly re-emerged. Madrid is trying to keep a tight leash on Catalonia, where the call for independence is getting louder by the day. The last time Barcelona moved to break away, in the 1930s, Spain quickly descended into civil war.Down in Valencia, a shallow grave is found among abandoned orange groves just outside the city. Chief Inspector Max Camara, now heading up the new Special Crime Unit, is put on the case. But this is no ordinary murder. Behind it, Max uncovers a tangled web that could awaken ghosts from the past, decimate Barcelona and destabilise the whole countryIts all down to Max, but the stakes are higher than anything hes ever known.One of the most creative writers working within the field of crime fiction, and one of the most entertainingDaily Express A series that gets better and better Mark Billingham Conveys a wonderful sense of Spain... [Webster] does for the country what Michael Dibdin did for Italy Daily Mail An exceptional writer Guardian

Jason Webster had lived in Spain for 15 years when he and his partner Salud, a flamenco dancer, tired of their city life and decided to buy a crumbling farmhouse clinging to the side of a steep valley in the eastern province of Castellon. He knew nothing about farming - he didnt even know what an almond tree looked like, or that he owned over 100 of them - but with help from local farmers and a twelfth-century book on gardening he set about recreating his dream.Sacred Sierra tells the story of their first year on the mountain, and how they cleared the land, planted and harvested olives, nurtured precious, expensive truffles, all while surviving gale force winds and scorching summer fires. While toying with the timeless, he also retells ancient legends and as the year passed, finds himself increasingly in tune with the ancient, mystical life of the sierra, a place that will haunt your imagination and raise your spirits.

Las tensiones en España están aumentando: de repente ha vuelto a surgir la violencia política y el malestar social. Madrid está tratando de mantener a raya a Cataluña, donde la llamada a la independencia es cada vez mas fuerte. La ultima vez que Barcelona se movilizo, en la decada de 1930, España desemboco rapidamente en una guerra civil. AMBIENTADA EN ESPAÑA

Spain is corrupt and crumbling. The king is ill, banks are closing, hospitals are in chaos, homes are lost, demonstrators riot and rightwing thugs patrol the street. The tunnels beneath the streets are at once a refuge and a source of anger. And as the blood flows Camara roars on his motorbike straight into the heart of trouble. Camara is back in Valencia, with his partner Alicia and his anarchist, marijuana - growing grandfather Hilario. In the old police headquarters, the mood is tense, as the chief hunts for cuts - who will go, Camara or his friend Torres? The two men are flung into action on seemingly separate cases, the suicide of an ex bank-clerk and the brutal murder of a young American woman. Around them the city is erupting into demonstrations and near riots. This dazzling new Camara novel - constantly surprising, full of vivid characters - exposes the dark underside of today's Spain. A powerful, gripping page-turner, it confirms Max Camara as the detective to watch, feeling the pulse of the moment. "A series that just gets better and better. Each Max Camara novel is a treat to savour". (Mark Billingham). "Conveys a wonderful sense of Spain...[ Webster] does for the country what Michael Dibdin did for Italy". (Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail). "All great cities need a fictional cop, and now Valencia has one of the very best in Jason Webster's dope smoking Chief Inspector Max Camara. Step into his world of the corrida, corruption, and clouds of saffron and you'll be hooked. But if he offers you a roll-up". (Quintin Jardine).

In the hills above Valencia is a notorious nightclub called Sunset. When its larger-than-life owner, Jose Luis, dies suddenly, everyone assumes it was a heart attack. Meanwhile, all is not well for Max Camara at HQ. His new boss, Rita Hernandez, has it in for him and his idiosyncratic methods. He must abandon a complex investigation to check out what looks like a routine death at Sunset. But an anonymous phone call suggests otherwise, leading him to an unholy network of drug dealers, priests and shady officials protecting a dark government secret.