The mother of the cold – Books and Literature

Review of the book “The Mother of the Cold”, by Miguel Salas Díaz

Galicia.

Supernatural gifts.

A body found in more than strange circumstances.

Sweet.

Rites.

Family secrets from half a century ago.

When I read these elements in the synopsis of The mother of the cold, obviously I was attracted. They were most of my literary affiliations gathered in a single book. And, although I rarely read thrillersis a genre that usually catches me.

In this novel by Miguel Salas Díaz—university professor of language and literature, poet, and expert in traditions and symbology—we meet Xan Borrasca, a hemiplegic man due to an accident he had in childhood, which also gave him powers: He is able to see the dead and talk to them. Therefore, it is not surprising that Irene, a police friend, asks her to collaborate in a case that has paranormal overtones: Marta Castro, a famous Galician actress, has been found with her heart torn out and a live bird in its place. As soon as Xan Borrasca delves into the case, he senses that this death is related to another from years ago that left him upset.

The mother of the cold advances in two stages: on the one hand, we accompany Borrasca in his current investigation and, on the other hand, we go back to that accident from his childhood that changed everything, to how he established relationships with the crucial people in his life and to that old case. which may be key to resolving the current one. And, as he unravels her memories of him, he discovers family secrets that make him better understand why he is the way he is.

The mother of the cold It is a novel that takes its time to delve into the characters and the plot, which is why it reaches almost five hundred pages. Nothing is rushed or happens just because, and that is appreciated. Hence, it is not entirely clear to me why I never connected with the story. It is one of those cases in which I don’t know if it is my fault, since the daily routine can mean that our mind is not in the right moment to get carried away by certain novels. The only drawbacks I can make—and which, I insist, have to do only with my reading experience—are that I saw a couple of the important twists coming from afar and that some events in the final stretch of the book did not convince me. Perhaps it is because the outcome of The mother of the cold It clearly opens the way to a second part, but, from the perspective of a single book, it left me with a certain feeling of disappointment.

That I have not connected with The mother of the cold does not mean that, objectively, I see that it has enough elements to be to the taste of both lovers of thriller as well as fantasy, since Miguel Salas Díaz has known how to unite both genres with verisimilitude. And those who enjoy this story will be lucky enough to have at least one more installment of its peculiar protagonist, Xan Borrasca.