The Shy Assassin

By Clara Usón

In September 1977, Sandra Mozarowsky-a seventeen-year-old Spanish erotic film actress and purported lover of then King Juan Carlos I-died after leaping from her fourth-floor balcony in Madrid. The mysterious circumstances surrounding her death drew immediate public interest and generated conspiracy theories. Was her death a suicide? A covert murder? A cry for help? In The Shy Assassin, award-winning Spanish novelist Clara Us n uses the tragic death of Mozarowsky to provide a powerful philosophical meditation on suicide and turbulent years of the Spanish transition to democracy. Playfully drawing upon the work of philosophers like Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jean-Paul Sartre, Us n weaves together her own experiences as a rebellious teenager with those of Mozarowsky's with great power and emotion. Winner of the prestigious Sor Juana In s de La Cruz Prize, Us n's novel is a funny, provocative, and deeply entertaining look at Spanish culture during a time of historic cultural and political change.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826508316
• ISBN13: 9780826508317
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.3"