“Look, Manuel – may I call you Manuel? I always advise my clients to be candid and aboveboard, especially with their spouses. After all, their spouses share their lives, and spouses are those most affected by bereavement. Àlvaro’s case was no exception. I’m not the person to judge the reasons or guess the motivations that drove him to act as he did. I’m simply the messenger, and I accept the fact that what I’m going to say isn’t going to win me any points with you. But this is my duty. I made a promise to Àlvaro, and I will carry it out in every detail.” After a dramatic pause he continues. “Àlvaro Muñiz de Dàvila had been the Marquis of Santo Tomè for the past three years, since the death of his father, the previous marquis. This title is one of the oldest in Galicia. His family’s estate is only a few miles from the site of the accident, and although I wasn’t aware he was here, I can vouch to you that he visited regularly and was conscientious in attending to his obligations.”
Manuel found each successive statement in this account more absurd than the last. He failed to suppress a sneer. “You’re putting me on!”
“I assure you every word I’ve said is true, and I stand ready to provide proof and documentation to corroborate any part of it.”
Manuel looked back and forth between Griñan and the security guard down the hall. He felt extremely jittery. “So you’re telling me my husband was an aristocrat – what was it you said, a marquis? With an estate and land holdings, and a family I’ve never heard of?” His tone became brutally sarcastic. “All that’s left now is for you to say he had a wife and children.”
The first thing I thought when I saw All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo was, “WHOA – that’s a big book!” Haha ... but then I read a bit about the author and was quickly intrigued. She also wrote The Baztàn Trilogy, a successful crime series set in the Basque Pyrenees, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in Spanish, and has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. All This I Will Give to You is a stand-alone thriller that has been optioned for feature film (I do love a book and movie tie-in!) and television development.
Official synopsis:
The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew.
Álvaro’s trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spain’s most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Álvaro’s old friend—and private confessor—from seminary school. Together they’re collecting the pieces of Álvaro’s past, his double life, and his mysterious death.
But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.
While I’ve read other books with hidden lives and identities, none has been accomplished, justified, and explained as well as All This I Will Give to You.
After being married for fifteen years, Manuel receives an unfortunate police visit during which he is informed that his husband has died in a traffic accident. As if that isn’t shocking enough, the accident has occurred far from where he thought his husband was traveling to for a business trip. This is just the beginning of the surprises for Manuel. Without knowing who to trust, he’s left questioning the most important part of his life, while learning about Àlvaro’s life before they met. Àlvaro’s family, who he told Manuel he had nothing to do with, is the key to finding out what happened to Àlvaro and why.
A big book is a big commitment, and as I read, I considered whether this could have been a shorter book, or even broken into several books. For me, I decided it’s perfect as is. The author explains each step of the mystery and Àlvaro’s life perfectly. Less detail would have felt less sincere, and there are no good breaking points as the story moves toward its conclusion. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, and may check out the author’s other translated books when I have some free time.
All This I Will Give to You will be in stores and online on September 1, 2018 - click here to pre-order.
Becki Bayley knows the difference between its and it’s, here and hear, and you’re, your, and yore. Usually. She’s been blogging at SweetlyBSquared.com for more than 15 years.
GIVEAWAY:
One of my lucky readers will win a hardcover copy of All That I Will Give to You!
Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Monday, August 27th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
U.S. residents only, please.
Good luck!
All This I Will Give To You, by Delores Redondo
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