A Light Comedy, by Eduardo Mendoza (Used)

In the late 1940s the Civil War is over, and Franco is still very much in charge. Prullas, a once-popular playwright, pursues a crowded life in the stifling city. His producer wants him to persuade their rich patron Vallsigorri that they cannot use the third-rate actress Lili whom the backer has foisted on him. In the course of playing honest broker, however, Prullas starts an affair with Lili. Fate intervenes—Vallsigorri is murdered and Prullas is prime suspect, but as this is a light comedy, the ending is, to some extent, a happy one.