Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán was born in Barcelona on 14 July 1939 and died in Bangkok on 18 October 2003. Spanish author, journalist and food expert, famous for having created the famous character of Pepe Carvalho, the private detective protagonist of a murder mystery series. Vázquez Montalbán was very much loved by Leonardo Sciascia and was a friend of Andrea Camilleri, who chose the name Salvo Montalbano for his own murder mystery books in his honour.