Ayamonte, 1996
She holds a degree in English Studies and has two master’s degrees, one in Education and another in Literature with a Gender Perspective. She lives in Granada, the city where her most recent crime novels are set. She currently gives talks to promote reading in primary and secondary schools, a task she combines with teaching creative writing and with her literary work, which she has pursued tirelessly since the age of twelve. To date, she has published thirteen novels, among which Las niñas salvajes, Las aguas sagradas, Los hijos malditos, and Lo que oculta la noche stand out—works that have received an excellent reception from both readers and critics. She also writes in the young adult genre, with titles such as Canela y sal and Mar profundo.
- “One of the leading literary figures in the field of young adult literature. Years later, she made the leap to the crime novel genre, where she has also achieved great success.” Zenda
Bibliography
A fast-paced, twist-filled thriller that launches the universe of Inspector Barea.
Granada, 2025. Everyone knows Inspector Barea by her surname. Almost no one knows her first name, nor that she suffers from a heart condition that would force her out of her job, as her heart struggles with exertion, stress, and overwhelming emotions. When the city is shaken by a series of horrific crimes, Barea must face the most important case of her career—one that endangers not only the lives she has sworn to protect, but also her closest circle and her own survival.
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Books for children and young readers
Novel
Granada, 2025. Everyone knows Inspector Barea by her surname. Almost no one knows her first name, nor that she suffers from a heart condition that would force her out of her job, as her heart struggles with exertion, stress, and overwhelming emotions. When the city is shaken by a series of horrific crimes, Barea must face the most important case of her career—one that endangers not only the lives she has sworn to protect, but also her closest circle and her own survival.
What initially appears to be a politically motivated settling of scores turns into a far more disturbing ritual as the number of victims grows. Each crime scene bears the killer’s signature: butterflies placed beside the bodies. But are we dealing with just any murderer? Barea will have to race against the clock to stop the wave of killings while grappling with the problems of her battered heart—not only because of the cursed heart disease, but also because of the bond that ties her to a man she loves, yet who is destroying her.
A fast-paced, twist-filled thriller that launches the universe of Inspector Barea.
Havana, 1987
Dolores García settles in Playa Larga with her lover, leaving behind her daughter and her husband. Over time, her curiosity leads her to discover one of the island’s most ancient traditions—Santería—and within her a purpose is born, far removed from the love that once brought her to that village.
Granada, 1990
Polet Hatero, a police sub-inspector, is assigned to investigate the death of a woman surrounded by an aura of mysticism. In the city, everyone insists it was the work of the devil, and although she resists believing it, the first clues challenge the boundaries of reason. If she is to uncover the truth, Polet will not only have to confront her own beliefs, but also a family that refuses to cooperate and is desperate to keep its secrets hidden. Will she be able to solve the case before it is too late, or will the forces stalking her end up consuming her?
A dark mystery where reality and fiction intertwine; a determined sub-inspector and a murder that breaks with convention.
Do you dare to discover what the night hides?
1950s, Granada. The city is plunged into the kind of silence that only tragedy leaves in its wake. The ground has split in two and swallowed everything in its path—except for a child, who now stares in fear at the rubble as he realizes that his life has just changed forever.
2021, a new murder. On the banks of the Darro River, bearing clear signs of violence, the body of a man is found in a position that recalls a case Jimena Cruz solved four years earlier—a case whose killer’s identity is known only to her. Fearing that the murderer may have returned, and despite her lack of shared values or sympathy with the police, she joins the investigation in an attempt to solve this new crime. She does so under one condition: that she be allowed to form her own team. Among its members are Fátima Suárez, a young historian, and Gari Atxa, a criminologist eager for action.
And a countdown begins. But they soon discover that nothing is what it seems, as a series of banners begin to flood the streets of Granada, predicting how the next victim will appear. The team then realizes they are facing something far darker, and that none of what they had taken for granted will serve them now. Will they be able to get ahead of the killer?
Hold your breath. May R Ayamonte returns with a relentless crime novel you won’t be able to forget.
The 1980s, a voice.
A group of people walks through a narrow landscape. No one dares to lift their eyes from the path or utter a word. Their mission is clear: they must head to the agreed-upon place, the one their bodies will inhabit and that will cast light upon their lives. Because there, where he awaits them, the Word is about to become flesh.
2023, a body.
The most devoted crowd in front of the Church of San Pedro and San Pablo, waiting for the procession of Christ of Mercy to begin, one of the most revered in Granada. Darkness and silence blanket every corner of the scene, until the doors open and the flicker of candles signals the start of the procession, which has barely moved a few meters when a scream shatters the stillness of the night.
Jimena Cruz, who is among the crowd, pushes her way through the throng. One has followed another, and now everyone points to the sky as they realize, in horror, that a body is hanging high from the bell tower.
And the beginning of a nightmare.
A new descent into hell awaits Jimena, who must hunt down a killer while grappling with a disturbing manifesto that has reached the public, warning of a desire to see the Alhambra reduced to ashes.
After Las niñas salvajes and Las aguas sagradas, the long-awaited conclusion arrives—one that thousands of readers have been waiting for.
An extreme thriller that will keep you on edge until its harrowing final.
1975, Granada: At Virgen del Carmen, an exclusive religious school for girls, one of the students waits with hope to be adopted. The years go by and her hope, close to fading, is rekindled when she receives word that a family is interested in her.
2017, a brutal murder: Jimena Cruz, a journalist at a low point in her career, learns that a lifeless body has been found in the Albaicín. When she arrives at the scene, she discovers it is María, her childhood teacher and the woman she considered her second mother. Hugo, her lover and one of the officers in charge of the investigation, tries to keep her at a distance. But for Jimena, the case has just become personal, and nothing and no one will be able to stop her.
And a revelation that will change everything: when the past breaks into the present and secrets long believed buried come to light, the lives of all the characters who move through this novel will be changed forever..
Books for children and young readers
An intergenerational story about the importance of knowing oneself, returning to one’s roots, and valuing those who truly love us.
Lola wants to take advantage of her parents’ trip to go out with her friends and, with any luck, invite Dani over—alone—for the first time. However, she ends up stuck in Ayamonte with her grandmother Amalia… and it turns out her stories are even more interesting than Javi, the guitar-playing boy who has just moved into the house next door.
Amalia wants to become a doctor. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that, for a young woman in Francoist Spain, such a future is little more than a dream. Everyone tells her she should find a man and get married as soon as possible, but despite everything, Amalia is not willing to give up her independence so easily.
Briny and Ayla are twins, as different on the outside as they are on the inside. Briny is autistic, and Ayla does not fit the standards of an average teenager. Briny is afraid of the rain, and Ayla is afraid of not being the center of her family’s life. A story in which two different worlds come together and complement each other. An ode against bullying and in favor of diversity. A friendship that goes beyond blood.
Amaya creía que su camino estaba trazado: una carrera universitaria, un novio atractivo y las juergas de siempre.
Pero este verano todo cambiará para ella, llevándola a replantearse qué quiere hacer con su vida y con quién quiere estar. En medio del torbellino, se sorprende sintiendo una irresistible atracción por la persona que menos sospechaba… ¿Se arriesgará a superar sus prejuicios e ir contra corriente?
Estas serán unas vacaciones locas en las que Amaya y sus amigos romperán todas las reglas y exprimirán la vida hasta la última gota: sin tabús, sin normas y, sobre todo, sin límites.
Nadia, Olivia y Narella lo tienen claro: van a vivir la vida a su manera, y nadie las va a parar.
Se enamorarán, disfrutarán del sexo, irán de fiesta, y superarán todos los obstáculos… como quieran y con quien les dé la gana, ya sea un chico o una chica, en una relación abierta o en exclusiva. El último curso en el instituto será memorable, y aprenderán las lecciones más importantes: que hay muchas maneras diferentes de amar, que su libertad está por encima de todo, y que nada sabe mejor que el primer bocado de comerse el mundo.