The Book Hunter (El cazador de libros)

A ruined actress steals a secret manuscript from the National Library without knowing that she has triggered a clandestine war over a technology capable of altering the global economic system. Caught between a criminal organization determined to exploit the knowledge and guardians intent on erasing it, she becomes the key piece in a race against time to prevent a global catastrophe.

Carmen Lago is an actress in free fall: unemployed, broke, and on the verge of losing custody of her son. When a mysterious intermediary offers her a million-euro payment to carry out a robbery—breaking into the National Library and stealing a classified manuscript—she accepts without asking questions. It is her only way out.

To pull off the job, Carmen adopts a false identity as a philologist and gains access to a secret chamber where the so-called item #117 is kept, a document whose existence has never been officially acknowledged. The theft immediately sets off a chain reaction Carmen never anticipated.

The manuscript contains the key to an ancient riddle whose solution leads to the location of the components of a machine capable of producing unlimited quantities of gold. This is not about wealth, but power: the ability to generate gold indistinguishable from the natural kind poses a direct threat to the global economic system and to geopolitical balance worldwide.

The commission comes from the Fallen, a secret organization seeking to use this knowledge to impose a new order. Their leader, Joseph Matheus, is a cold, calculating strategist who sees Carmen as a disposable tool within a far greater plan.

The theft does not go unnoticed. The Buchjäger, an ancient brotherhood devoted to safeguarding books and knowledge too dangerous for humanity, detect the disappearance immediately. To recover the manuscript, they activate John Velasco, one of their most effective agents and a former disciple of Matheus. For John, the mission is also personal: to stop his mentor and ensure that no one can ever rebuild the technology.

When John tracks down Carmen, he realizes she has been betrayed and abandoned by those who hired her. Instead of eliminating her, he decides to protect her. Together they embark on a race against time to prevent the Fallen from assembling all the pieces needed to activate the machine.

Throughout the pursuit—which moves through libraries, monasteries, and historic sites—Carmen ceases to be a mere courier. She discovers that the manuscript offers no direct instructions, but misleading clues and alternative paths. Her intuitive, practical way of interpreting it allows her to influence the search and alter the pace of the race between the two sides.

The conflict culminates on a private island, where the Fallen manage to assemble the machine and activate it, convinced they have won. The activation generates a physical signal impossible to conceal—an anomaly linked to the artifact’s operation that the Buchjäger have monitored for centuries—and triggers their final protocol.

The Buchjäger launch an extreme operation aimed at destroying the island, eliminating those responsible, and erasing any trace of the secret. Matheus dies and his cause collapses. John disappears while covering Carmen’s escape, presumed dead by his own order. She manages to get away.

Carmen returns to the real world and to the life she left behind, transformed by what she has endured. The secret has been eradicated, order has been preserved, and no one will be held accountable for the methods used. The price has been paid in silence, and the decisions that saved the world will remain buried forever.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Alberto Caliani is a Spanish writer and screenwriter specializing in adventure thrillers, historical fiction, and noir with supernatural undertones. He has received the Pandemia Prize 2013, the double HISLIBRIS 2021 awards for Best Historical Novel and Best Spanish Author, and the José Rasero Balón Prize for Best Crime Novel.

His works have been very well received by both critics and readers. Among them stands out El cazador de libros, a fast-paced thriller adventure that captivates readers through a plot packed with tension and constant twists. The story is built around a clear conflict and well-defined, easily recognizable characters, giving it strong narrative solidity and high commercial appeal. The novel concludes with a powerful ending, coherent with its development and of strong impact.

What the critics say:

“Forget Ian Fleming, Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie: it is Alberto Caliani’s turn.” — Ramón Villa García, Zenda

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Feature Film, TV Film.

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.