Arturo Peréz-Reverte was born in Cartagena in 1951. Since the publication of The Fencing Master, his first novel, Pérez-Reverte has become one of Europe's bestselling authors. His books have been published in fifty countries and have sold over 27 million copies worldwide. His novel The Dumas Club was adapted into a filme (The Ninth Gate) and The Siege received the 2014 CWA International Dagger.