A Disappearance in Lanzarote: A Matter of Latitude

Celestino cannot simply go home

A Matter of Latitude by Isobel Blackthorn follows anti-corruption activist Celestino after a collision on an isolated Lanzarote road. Convinced it was deliberate, he takes refuge in an abandoned fishing village. Wounded and afraid, he waits for a chance to return home.

The first Canary Islands Mysteries novel gives him a survival problem defined by concealment. His wife does not know where he is, and the place keeping him out of immediate sight also keeps him separated from the person looking for him.

Paula’s search attracts danger

Paula sets out to find her husband, but the inquiry soon becomes hazardous. Realizing that someone is following her makes the absence harder to treat as an ordinary search for a missing loved one.

For readers interested in island thrillers, the setup offers two related experiences of uncertainty. Celestino believes he has been targeted and must judge when it is safe to move. Paula needs information about him while trying to understand the attention her own search attracts. His activism provides context for the threat without proving every suspicion in advance. The suspense comes from the gap between what husband and wife know, with neither able to assume that reaching the other will be straightforward.