A novel inspired by a true crime case from the 1950s, where everything begins with the arrival of a Romani community in a small village—sparking suspicion, jealousy, and fear. But at its core, this is an incredible love story that defies prejudice and societal conventions.
In Catalonia, in the fall of 1953, a Romani community sets up camp on a mountain overlooking a village chapel during the town’s festival. Tensions between the villagers and the newcomers quickly escalate. When a string of thefts begins to occur, suspicion falls immediately on the Romani people—especially for Agustí del Rebollé, the wealthy landowner of the area, who accuses them of stealing honey from his property.
After reporting the crimes to the Guardia Civil, an officer tacitly suggests he take justice into his own hands. One night, when Agustí spots some Romani near his estate, he fires his shotgun—killing one of them. The victim is Manuel “Tijerillas” Montoya, the son of the Romani clan leader, Uncle Raymundo. What Agustí doesn’t know is that Tijerillas was there searching for medicinal plants to care for his wife, Samara.
The Guardia Civil, led by Sergeant Lacuriza, begins investigating the case and the thefts. But just hours later, against all odds, a man turns himself in, confessing to the crime: Galderic del Rebollé, Agustí’s own brother, a decision he makes to protect him.
During his years in prison, Galderic befriends an inmate who opens his mind to the world beyond his village and makes him question his life choices.
When he is released four and a half years later, Galderic returns home a different man. The village, however, remains much the same, with the Romani community still seen as outsiders. When he arrives at the estate, he finds it has changed, and later discovers that Agustí took advantage of his absence to transfer all the property to his own name. Outraged, Galderic struggles with whether to take revenge and reveal the truth about the murder.
As he wrestles with these thoughts, he approaches Samara, the widow of the man his brother killed. His views on the Romani people have changed, and he is drawn to her. At first, she is distant and rejects him, believing he killed her husband, but she eventually gives in as the attraction between them is mutual. Galderic decides to sell his share of the estate to his brother and gives the money to Samara. But the village will never approve of their relationship—nor will the Romani community. To escape before suspicions arise, the couple plans to flee to Andorra. It is then that Galderic reveals to Samara that he was not her husband’s killer, that he only took the blame to protect his brother, but she refuses to believe him. Their escape attempt is foiled when they are discovered, and the story takes a tragic turn: Rucio, Tijerillas’ brother, kills Galderic, avenging the man he believes to be his brother’s murderer. In the end, Sergeant Lacuriza uncovers the real culprit, but by then, it is far too late.
RELEVANT INFORMATION: The Honey Crimes (Los crímenes de la miel) is a noir novel based on a true crime case from 20th-century Spanish history, widely known as “The Gypsy Murder,” in which a Catalan farmer shot and killed a young Romani man near his property. However, author Pep Coll blends fact and fiction to explore possible motives, bring the case to light, and, most importantly, illustrate the contrast between the nomadic culture of Romani families at the time and the deeply rooted way of life in the rural Catalan estates.
The novel explores themes similar to those in works such as As Bestas and The Holy Innocents, where danger arises from within the community, yet it does not frame the story in terms of good versus evil. Instead, it encourages the reader to understand both sides.
Once again, Pep Coll demonstrates his skill as both an author and a researcher, as he delved into the case files and conducted interviews with members of the Romani community to gain deeper insight into their customs and beliefs. Coll is now one of Catalonia’s most renowned writers, known for his deep knowledge of his land and history. He has been awarded multiple literary prizes, including the Gran Angular Prize for Young Adult Literature (1991), the Serra d’Or Critics’ Prize (1992), the Ramón Muntaner Prize (1994), the Sant Joan Narrative Prize (2005), the Sant Jordi Novel Prize (2007), the Catalan Narrative Critics’ Prize (2014), and even France’s Prix du Livre Pyrénéen (2015).
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Movie.
AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish, Catalan.
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