Antonio Gómez Rufo was born in Madrid, studied law and criminology, and devoted himself very early on to writing. He is the author of a dozen novels, as well as a biography of Berlanga and several books on Madrid. Praised by both Spanish and international critics, his work has been translated into German, Dutch, Bulgarian, Portuguese, French, Greek and Polish. Winner of the Premio Fernando Lara de Novela and the Premio Independencia Dos de Mayo for 'El secreto del rey cautivo' (2005) and finalist for the Premio Nacional de Narrativa for 'El alma de los peces' (2000). He is also the author of 'Las lágrimas de Henan', 'Los mares del miedo' (2003, Premio de la Asociación de Libreros de Cartagena), 'Adiós a los hombres' (2006), 'El señor de Cheshire' (2006, Premio Ducal de Loeches), 'Balada triste en Madrid' (2007), and 'La noche del tamarindo' (2008).