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She's gripped Spain with her ultra-violent crime thrillers and was regarded by critics as the country's answer to Italy's reclusive novelist Elena Ferrante.
But now Carmen Mola has revealed her most stunning plot twist: she doesn't exist, and her books are penned by three middle-aged men.
On Friday night the €1million Planeta prize was awarded to Mola, an author who until now had been presented as a female university professor writing under a pen name so she could remain anonymous.
But when the main prize at the ceremony was announced in the presence of King Felipe VI in Barcelona, three men stepped up to the podium - throwing the literary world into a state of confusion.
Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz and Antonio Mercero published novels and worked as scriptwriters under their real names before writing as Mola. Credits include work on TV series Central Hospital and Blind Date.
Spanish writers Agustin Martinez, Jorge Diaz and Antonio Mercero pose with the prize after receiving the Planeta literary award for their novel 'La Bestia'
Spain's King Felipe VI (left) and Queen Letizia (right) give the Planeta literary award to the writers Agustin Martinez (second from the left), Jorge Diaz (centre) and Antonio Mercero (second from the right) for their novel 'La Bestia'
Their lead character in the Mola novels is detective Elena Blanco, a police inspector with a fondness
