Bad People (Mala gente)

The head of the Spanish mafia has Alzheimer’s… and has just killed his wife. The Consortium, the alliance of mafia families that controls the country, considers him a danger and issues an irrevocable sentence: the Consul must die. A desperate flight across Spain begins, as former allies, enemies, and the police launch an implacable manhunt. A high-octane novel by Alberto Caliani, one of the most promising voices in Spanish thriller fiction.

Andrés Santos, the Consul, the most powerful man in organized crime in Spain, murders his own wife during an Alzheimer’s episode. The Consortium, the alliance of mafia families controlling much of the country’s organized crime, issues an immediate ruling: the Consul must die before his illness sparks an uncontrollable war between clans. But Mandi, his lieutenant and most trusted man, refuses to execute the man he considers a father.

Instead of obeying, he flees Madrid with the aging mafioso, Dani—the Consul’s young son—and “the Instagram,” a Moroccan drug dealer as eccentric as he is endearing. Their only hope is to cross Spain and reach Galicia, from where they can escape by sea to a hidden refuge in the Bahamas.

Their escape triggers an internal earthquake. Belén, the Consul’s eldest daughter, decides to seize power by force and launches a brutal hunt against her own family. To establish herself as the heir, she must eliminate all potential successors, including Dani and also Feli, the patriarch’s illegitimate daughter—a young woman living in Barcelona, completely removed from her father’s criminal dealings.

Meanwhile, the police inspector investigating the murder of the Consul’s wife discovers that the government is manipulating the operation from the shadows. The orders are clear: they must not arrest the mafiosos, only prevent them from leaving Spain. The State fears that the fall of the Consortium would trigger an open war among criminal clans and prefers to control the transition of power rather than unleash chaos.

As the escape progresses, the group of fugitives grows and becomes increasingly unstable. Mandi rescues Feli when a hitwoman sent by Belén tries to kill her in Barcelona, and shortly afterward they are joined by Marieta, the wife of a powerful Russian mafioso and Mandi’s secret lover: a woman as lethal as she is unpredictable, capable of saving their lives while simultaneously playing multiple sides.

Betrayals, ambushes, kidnappings, and massacres accompany their journey across half of Spain, culminating in a final confrontation at the Galician port of Bueu, where hitmen, rival clans, and police forces converge. There, amid a savage shootout, the Consul is killed just as he is about to escape. Mandi brutally kills Belén, believing her responsible… only to later discover that the fatal shot actually came from a clandestine police unit.

Dani and Feli manage to flee to the Bahamas, but the real final blow comes afterward. Mandi is arrested and released just hours later by the State itself, which has been manipulating the balance between mafias throughout the operation. Its goal was never to destroy the Consortium, but to ensure its survival under controllable leadership. That is why they offer Mandi the chance to become the new head of the criminal organization—a deal he initially refuses.

However, days later, Marieta murders her husband, takes control of the Russian mafia in Spain, and calls Mandi with a final proposal: “I need a king.”

This time, he accepts. The story ends with the birth of a new criminal empire.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Alberto Caliani is a Spanish writer and screenwriter. After an early stage as a comic book artist and contributor to specialized publications, he devoted himself fully to literature, building a diverse body of work that spans adventure thrillers, historical fiction, and noir with supernatural undertones. Caliani has received several awards, including the Premio Pandemia 2013, the double HISLIBRIS 2021 for Best Historical Novel and Best Spanish Author, and the José Rasero Balón for best crime novel. His works have been widely praised by both critics and readers.

Mala gente is an action thriller that grips from the very first page thanks to its relentless plot, filled with tension, betrayals, and a pace that never lets up. The story is built around a clear central conflict—flight and pursuit—and a cast of distinct, archetypal characters: the honorable lieutenant, the ruthless villainess, the innocent child, the comic relief of “the Instagram,” all easily recognizable, giving the work strong narrative solidity and enormous commercial potential for audiovisual adaptation.

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

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.