One night in Madrid. The one the tourists, and plenty of Madrileos never see. The Madrid of poker games, scams and dodgy deals. Of flyovers, bus stations and industrial estates. Of gamblers, gangsters, and the odd saint, who might just perform a miracle. The Madrid of Snchez and Nikki.

In her latest book, Esther Garca Llovet follows this not quite Bonnie & Clyde pair of chancers on the brink as they desperately hunt down a greyhound called Cromwell, who might just be the answer to all their problems. With her razor-sharp language, her inimitable eye for the absurd, and her surreal style, that feels like David Lynch after too much vermut, Garca Llovet reveals herself as a cinematic storyteller par excellence and an unrivalled, passionate portraitist of the Spanish capital and the characters who live in its shadows.