Murder in the Central Committee by Manuel Vazquez Montalban
The lights go out during a meeting of the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party - Fernando Garrido, the general secretary, has been murdered. Pepe Carvalho, who has worked for both the Party and the CIA, is well suited to track down Garrido's murderer. Unfortunately, the job requires a trip to Madrid - an inhospitable city where food and sex is heavier than in Pepe's beloved Barcelona.