What do you think?
Rate this book
Valentine Savi #1
Death in the Latin Quarter
Early one morning among the magnificent honey-coloured buildings of the Sorbonne, the tranquillity of the university is shattered by a death. But why would Albert Cadas, a quiet, crumpled professor of medieval literature, have any reason to kill himself? Meanwhile in another part of Paris, Valentine Savi, a talented young restorer, receives a visit in her studio from an enigmatic elderly gentleman with a unique to restore a priceless medieval palimpsest whose timeworn pages promise to reveal the truth of a mystery that has fascinated scholars and writers for hundreds of years. Valentine soon learns that the shadowy figures who seek to possess the secrets of the manuscript are far darker and more ruthless than she could ever have imagined...Together with her friend Hugo Vermeer -- aristocrat, epicure and incorrigible wheeler-dealer -- and David Scotto, Cadas's doctoral student, Valentine finds herself on a terrifying and thrilling adventure through the narrow streets and glo
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
8 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 20, 2012
DEATH IN THE LATIN QUARTER is the first novel by Raphael Cardetti, translated from the original French, released in English in 2010. Categorised on the cover as a "treasure-hunt tale", this is a book set in the halls of academia and the world of art collection, restoration and museums.
The story, as outlined in the blurb, revolves around Valentine Savi, a talented young restorer, taking in private commissions to clean and restore artwork on behalf of the great general public. She has fallen from grace, fired from a prestigious job after a mistake, which is slowly revealed as the book goes on. After being approached by an enigmatic elderly man with a unique commission, she quickly finds herself involved in nefarious plots to possess an ancient manuscript and the secrets it allegedly holds.
Okay, up front, I really really struggled to finish this book. Originally I thought it might be a slight personal wariness that I feel about these great artwork / secrets from the past / enigmatic old millionaires / playing fast and loose with everyone around them type scenarios. There were a number of things that worried me about this book: why we couldn't just confirm what had happened to make Savi lose her job so that we could all move on (it wasn't hard to take an educated guess after all). Why the Dean even had time to develop such a hump with some poor hapless student (and quite what all that was supposed to be about anyway). Why so many millionaire art-collectors have to be "enigmatic"; and most of all why their assistants have to be gorgeous, wound up like a top, perfectly coiffed blonde women (for that matter why are their bodyguards always "disguised" as the chauffeur and built like the proverbial without a brain cell to spare). And I haven't even mentioned the compound, the state of the art security system that wasn't, and the security consultant who would have been better paying more attention to the aforementioned state of the art security system, and a lot less to lusting after the main female characters. Whilst these sorts of books are very much about the manipulation of the reader experience, there must be something in the storytelling that makes the reader willing to go along with the obvious tension building, and I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, swallow a lot of it.
At one point I thought I'd nailed the problem, assuming I'd missed a subtle sense of humour. Maybe the story was teasing me, it was supposed to be slightly tongue in cheek, and I'd misread the tone completely... Toiling on through the book, I looked for these signs, but I simply couldn't find them. Instead I found an increasing pile of overt red herrings, a bit of romantic tension, much rushing around and a hefty dose of telegraphed character-jep that would have made a movie fan pitch Jaffa's at the screen. As the pace tried to pick up in the book, my ability to stick with it was getting less and less. The villains were too much, the bad guy too obvious, the characterisations too clichéd and the plot too transparent for my taste.
The story, as outlined in the blurb, revolves around Valentine Savi, a talented young restorer, taking in private commissions to clean and restore artwork on behalf of the great general public. She has fallen from grace, fired from a prestigious job after a mistake, which is slowly revealed as the book goes on. After being approached by an enigmatic elderly man with a unique commission, she quickly finds herself involved in nefarious plots to possess an ancient manuscript and the secrets it allegedly holds.
Okay, up front, I really really struggled to finish this book. Originally I thought it might be a slight personal wariness that I feel about these great artwork / secrets from the past / enigmatic old millionaires / playing fast and loose with everyone around them type scenarios. There were a number of things that worried me about this book: why we couldn't just confirm what had happened to make Savi lose her job so that we could all move on (it wasn't hard to take an educated guess after all). Why the Dean even had time to develop such a hump with some poor hapless student (and quite what all that was supposed to be about anyway). Why so many millionaire art-collectors have to be "enigmatic"; and most of all why their assistants have to be gorgeous, wound up like a top, perfectly coiffed blonde women (for that matter why are their bodyguards always "disguised" as the chauffeur and built like the proverbial without a brain cell to spare). And I haven't even mentioned the compound, the state of the art security system that wasn't, and the security consultant who would have been better paying more attention to the aforementioned state of the art security system, and a lot less to lusting after the main female characters. Whilst these sorts of books are very much about the manipulation of the reader experience, there must be something in the storytelling that makes the reader willing to go along with the obvious tension building, and I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, swallow a lot of it.
At one point I thought I'd nailed the problem, assuming I'd missed a subtle sense of humour. Maybe the story was teasing me, it was supposed to be slightly tongue in cheek, and I'd misread the tone completely... Toiling on through the book, I looked for these signs, but I simply couldn't find them. Instead I found an increasing pile of overt red herrings, a bit of romantic tension, much rushing around and a hefty dose of telegraphed character-jep that would have made a movie fan pitch Jaffa's at the screen. As the pace tried to pick up in the book, my ability to stick with it was getting less and less. The villains were too much, the bad guy too obvious, the characterisations too clichéd and the plot too transparent for my taste.
April 3, 2018
Though not a book I would necessarily choose for myself (this was a book group choice), I found this an enjoyable read in the end. A slightly silly romp through historical mysteries and various good/bad guys in the art history field, this basically reminded me more than a little bit of 'The Da Vinci Code', though to Cardetti's credit this was a lot more well-written, with some lovely descriptions of Paris and the varied characters which made up the novel.
Though a fun ride, I can't honestly say I can give it a higher rating - because it only worked as long as I could set aside the feeling that it was all a bit ridiculous for these people to be behaving like this over art/historical research. Call it my scientific bias, I just felt it less immersive than had these people been chasing around the key to a cure for a disease or some technological advance of great import.. as opposed to some old bits of paper. There seemed a unbelievably high body count for something I didn't find quite that worth killing over or dying myself for.
Though a fun ride, I can't honestly say I can give it a higher rating - because it only worked as long as I could set aside the feeling that it was all a bit ridiculous for these people to be behaving like this over art/historical research. Call it my scientific bias, I just felt it less immersive than had these people been chasing around the key to a cure for a disease or some technological advance of great import.. as opposed to some old bits of paper. There seemed a unbelievably high body count for something I didn't find quite that worth killing over or dying myself for.
August 30, 2022
Smiješno i naivno, ozbiljnije enigme su razbijali 5 prijatelja i imali su bolji karakter od glavnih likova ovog romana..
September 24, 2017
Unexpectedly excellent! Four-and-a-half stars, and now looking to read more by this author.
Would I read again? Yes.
Would I read again? Yes.
November 7, 2019
Niie losa tematika ali je lose napisana.previse se paznje posvecuje nebitnim stvarima,i totalno je glup kraj.
April 25, 2017
Mislim da je dovoljno reći da sam je pročitala pre manje od dve godine i da je jedino čega sam se sećala to ko su glavni negativci i, donekle, dva od tri (pretpostavljam) glavna lika. Čak se nisam sećala ni kako se završila.
Liči mi na pokušaj, prilično neuspeli, imitiranja Da Vinčijevog koda.
Priča je još i zanimljiva ali stil pisanja ne drži pažnju.
Priča ne teče i nema neku dubinu. Sve saznajemo u delovima i nepotpuno, nema neke pozadine, a sam rasplet je rešen na otprilike 5 poslednjih strana.
Nisam mogla da se povežem sa likovima. O dijalozima i mentalnom sklopu da ne pričam. Fali joj dubine. To me ipak nije sprečilo da kupim i drugi deo, Majstor obmane, pošto mrzim da započnem neku knjigu ili, u ovom slučaju, duologiju i ne završim je, osim ukoliko je apsolutno ne mrzim.
Liči mi na pokušaj, prilično neuspeli, imitiranja Da Vinčijevog koda.
Priča je još i zanimljiva ali stil pisanja ne drži pažnju.
Priča ne teče i nema neku dubinu. Sve saznajemo u delovima i nepotpuno, nema neke pozadine, a sam rasplet je rešen na otprilike 5 poslednjih strana.
Nisam mogla da se povežem sa likovima. O dijalozima i mentalnom sklopu da ne pričam. Fali joj dubine. To me ipak nije sprečilo da kupim i drugi deo, Majstor obmane, pošto mrzim da započnem neku knjigu ili, u ovom slučaju, duologiju i ne završim je, osim ukoliko je apsolutno ne mrzim.
October 12, 2011
Alright but.... I got the feeling that this wanted to gallop off like a Dan Brown epic but something kept holding it back. A bit confusing with new characters popping up all over the place but on the whole it was ok. I would of liked Valentines character to have been a bit more developed-perhaps the author has plans for her in a sequel!
September 26, 2022
I grabbed this thinking it would be fun: Paris! Academia! Art history! Unfortunately it's an absolute dud. Cardetti is trying hard to do something in the vein of the Da Vinci Code - and while the Da Vinci Code is also appallingly written and absurd, it has the advantage of being an unquestionable page-turner. Even as silly, escapist fun, Death in the Latin Quarter novel just fails. The characters are supposed to be intelligent, but all behave stupidly; the plot manages to be both ridiculous and dull (quite an achievement); characters who are meant to be charming and clever are instead witless and irritating; characters explain the plot to each other in incredibly contrived, 'Basil Exposition' type dialogue. I know this is a translated edition but I don't think any translator could take the blame for what is, frankly, a stinker. A profoundly annoying and unintelligent novel, made all the more annoying by the fact that it has pretensions to being slightly intellectual.
October 4, 2018
Death In The Latin Quarter , Le paradoxe de Vasalis or, if you want it, Savršena enigma is not as bad book as its Goodreads rate may lead you to believe. It's a quick read with a semi interesting plot that has more than enough quality to be that one book you will read on a very long flight / ride.
That being said, the author should have paid more attention to the characters - they lack depth and originality. Another minus is author's constant mentioning of well known artists and their works which may have seemed as a good idea considering jobs they (the characters) do, but like with everything else in life there is line for this as well.
Comment for a Serbian translator: iako gramatičke greške nisu bile toliko brojne ili upadljive, Vaše menjanje stranih imena kroz padeže (pogotovo ono što ste uradili sa Maksimom Zerkom) je katastrofalno.
That being said, the author should have paid more attention to the characters - they lack depth and originality. Another minus is author's constant mentioning of well known artists and their works which may have seemed as a good idea considering jobs they (the characters) do, but like with everything else in life there is line for this as well.
Comment for a Serbian translator: iako gramatičke greške nisu bile toliko brojne ili upadljive, Vaše menjanje stranih imena kroz padeže (pogotovo ono što ste uradili sa Maksimom Zerkom) je katastrofalno.
October 3, 2022
Thriller set in Paris about art and precious books. A good page-turner.
Valentine is an art restorer who becomes ensnared in a complicated tale about lost medieval texts. Many interesting characters appear, mostly well-developed but perhaps a bit stereotypical. As the story unfolds, there’s a hefty body count before reaching a bit of a rushed dénouement. An enjoyable read and a very pleasant change.
Valentine is an art restorer who becomes ensnared in a complicated tale about lost medieval texts. Many interesting characters appear, mostly well-developed but perhaps a bit stereotypical. As the story unfolds, there’s a hefty body count before reaching a bit of a rushed dénouement. An enjoyable read and a very pleasant change.
June 29, 2017
Na tuhle detektivku jsem se moc těšila - prostředí galerií, umění, univerzity, Paříže - zázračné spojení, co si přát víc? Bohužel zázrak se nekonal - mně prostě žádná z postav nebyla tak úplně sympatická, ani Valentina nedostala dostatečný prostor k tomu, abych si ji mohla oblíbit, psychologie postav hodně kulhala a děj se místy vlekl - škoda přeškoda dobrého námětu.
May 20, 2017
I think Karen who has provided a very detailed review captures much of my ambivalence about this book. However, she was good and kept going. For me, life's too short to spend time reading a book that feels dragged out and ultimately uninteresting so I stopped.
January 9, 2018
Slow going read, the thriller never really hit the spot . The plot felt sluggish , the story never really developed well enough that excite me.
The only good thing was the description of Paris and the inclusion of old famous artist giving the story some meaning at certain areas in the plot!
The only good thing was the description of Paris and the inclusion of old famous artist giving the story some meaning at certain areas in the plot!
January 1, 2019
A decent thriller in the historical vein. A little stilted at first as the scene is being set, before weaving into the full story, with Sorbonne and Paris as the backdrop to this tale based on art and art restoration. A couple of decent twists keep the plot running to the end.
November 15, 2019
Brilliant book.
I got around a 100 pages into this book with the feeling, I know this story. Turns out I have read it before, but such a brilliant story that I could remember it over two years after reading it.
I got around a 100 pages into this book with the feeling, I know this story. Turns out I have read it before, but such a brilliant story that I could remember it over two years after reading it.
September 16, 2025
This was a really enjoyable read. Good harmless fun with some great little twists thrown in!
January 22, 2018
This was an excellent read. Something of a tour-de-force around Paris and the world of Art Dealers/Restorers/Crooks. Most entertainingand I look forward to the next book from this first time author.
September 28, 2011
Vasalis byl středověký mnich. Nikdo toho o něm dnes moc neví. Malé střípky informací se o něm ale opravdu dochovaly.
Jednoho dne nabídne talentované restaurátorce Valentine práci na tajemném kodexu Elias Stern, velice známý obchodník s uměním. Valentine po delším váhání jeho nabídku přijímá. Jak se zdá, tento kodex by mohl mít spojitost právě se záhadným Vasalisem.
A najednou se objevují různí lidé, kteří jeví o kodex obrovský zájem a hodlají udělat opravdu vše, aby ho získali. A uprostřed „boje“ o kodex stojí Valentine, která zprvu vůbec nemá tušení, že by mohlo jít o něco tak velkého. Nakonec ji ale přestává bavit nic nevědět o aktuálních událostech a rozhodne se zjistit, co se to tu vlastně děje a co přesně je tajemná nadace Eliase Sterna, pro kterou vlastně pracuje.
Vasalisův paradox představuje úplně jiný žánr, než jaký „normálně“ čtu. Jeho klasifikace je jasná – detektivka.
Každá kniha musí mít nějakou zápletku, je sice pravda, že někdy se nepodaří ji pořádně rozvést, anebo se před čtenáři schovává, ale je tam. Když už se tedy hlavní zápletka vyjeví, nejčastěji se stává, že se na ní nabalují další a další věci, že se čtenáři hlavní zápletku podaří rozlousknout až opravdu v samém závěrů knihy. Vasalisův paradox se velmi liší, protože všechny informace čtenáři zamotají hlavu, všechno se do sebe zakombinuje, a může se stát, jako třeba mně, že se mu nepovede hlavní zápletku nalézt.
Zpočátku jsem si myslela, že kniha bude o restaurování kodexu a pátrání po mnichovi Vasalisovi stylem Lovců pokladů, kde Valentine ztvární hlavní lovkyni. Potom jsem si ale uvědomila, že takhle to asi nebude. Myslela jsem si tedy, že námětem je pátrání po kodexu ostatními a Valentine ho bude tak nějak chránit. Tím si ale taky nejsem tak jistá. Takže moje poslední teorie je, že tou hlavní zápletkou, na kterou bylo přibaleno neskutečné množství dalších dobrodružství, které vlastně vytvořili celou knihu, je přesvědčování Eliase Sterna, aby se Valentine připojila k jeho nadaci. A jak je vidět, Elias na to jde opravdu složitě. On totiž musí Valentine ukázat, že je ve svém oboru velice žádaná a že ji chce do své nadace. Voi-lá, a na světě je kniha.
Tento spletenec zápletek vytvoří něco opravdu výjimečného a pořádně zapeklitého, nad čím si budete lámat hlavinku ještě dlouho po přečtení.
Podobně komplikované, jako samotný příběh, jsou i jednotlivé postavy. Druhé jméno Eliase Sterna je tajemství a Valentine se dva roky nemůže sebrat z toho, že v Louvru zničila vzácnou skicu Leonarda DaVinciho.
Podrobnosti této záhady se ale čtenář dozvídá ještě později než samotná Valentine, protože Cardetti má velice zvláštní styl odhalování. Hrdinové se o něčem baví a přijdou na to, kdo, jak a proč. Neřeknou to ale přímo a tak si méně bystří čtenáři musejí počkat, až danou osobu konfrontují, aby se vlastně dozvěděli, o co šlo. Tím pádem se příběh stává ještě více opředený záhadami a čtenář se nemůže dočkat, až se vše dozví.
Pravděpodobně je tu spousta lidí, kteří se v umění neorientují a jakžtakž ví, kdo byl Leonardo DaVinci nebo například Picasso. Vasalisův paradox je uměním prošpikován. Ač to na první pohled moc nevypadá, opravdu to tak je. Ale i tito absolutní neznalci umění si knihu užijí, neboť autor neváhá pomoci čtenáři s uměleckou orientací formou klidně i dvoustránkového výkladu. Což opravdu pomůže a vy si potom budete připadat chytřejší, protože budete vědět o něco více. Takovéto shrnutí informací ale ubírá na spádu příběhu, protože když máte dobře rozjetou scénu, vlastně nevíte, proč, například, onen člověk zemřel, a v takovém momentě je vám úplně jedno, že si vrah odnesl něco z kolikátého století a jak je to vzácné. V tu chvíli vás zajímá pouze vrah. Kdo je vrah, udělal to sám za sebe, anebo ho někdo poslal? Tento výklad bych ocenila spíše před konáním scény, protože potom člověk ví, o jaký předmět se bude jednat, a bude chápat hlubší smysl onoho činu a také chování jednotlivých postav.
Milovníci umění by měli po knize sáhnout všemi deseti, nejen kvůli umění, ale protože tam najdou něco navíc. Pořádně propracovaný krimi příběh.
Detektivní závisláci by měli nad knihou uvažovat už z principu, jde o další knihu, která rozšíří jejich řady detektivek a oni v ní objeví něco navíc. Umění.
Obyčejní smrtelníci, kterým nezáleží na žánru, ale vlastně většina čtenářů, kteří milují komplikované příběhy, si knihu užijí hlavně kvůli knize samotné a každý si najde to, co ho obohatí. Není vůbec důležité, zda to bude právě detektivní zápletka, umělecká sféra, nebo hrdinové, kteří přirostou k srdci. Jde hlavně o celek a ten opravdu stojí za to.
Jednoho dne nabídne talentované restaurátorce Valentine práci na tajemném kodexu Elias Stern, velice známý obchodník s uměním. Valentine po delším váhání jeho nabídku přijímá. Jak se zdá, tento kodex by mohl mít spojitost právě se záhadným Vasalisem.
A najednou se objevují různí lidé, kteří jeví o kodex obrovský zájem a hodlají udělat opravdu vše, aby ho získali. A uprostřed „boje“ o kodex stojí Valentine, která zprvu vůbec nemá tušení, že by mohlo jít o něco tak velkého. Nakonec ji ale přestává bavit nic nevědět o aktuálních událostech a rozhodne se zjistit, co se to tu vlastně děje a co přesně je tajemná nadace Eliase Sterna, pro kterou vlastně pracuje.
Vasalisův paradox představuje úplně jiný žánr, než jaký „normálně“ čtu. Jeho klasifikace je jasná – detektivka.
Každá kniha musí mít nějakou zápletku, je sice pravda, že někdy se nepodaří ji pořádně rozvést, anebo se před čtenáři schovává, ale je tam. Když už se tedy hlavní zápletka vyjeví, nejčastěji se stává, že se na ní nabalují další a další věci, že se čtenáři hlavní zápletku podaří rozlousknout až opravdu v samém závěrů knihy. Vasalisův paradox se velmi liší, protože všechny informace čtenáři zamotají hlavu, všechno se do sebe zakombinuje, a může se stát, jako třeba mně, že se mu nepovede hlavní zápletku nalézt.
Zpočátku jsem si myslela, že kniha bude o restaurování kodexu a pátrání po mnichovi Vasalisovi stylem Lovců pokladů, kde Valentine ztvární hlavní lovkyni. Potom jsem si ale uvědomila, že takhle to asi nebude. Myslela jsem si tedy, že námětem je pátrání po kodexu ostatními a Valentine ho bude tak nějak chránit. Tím si ale taky nejsem tak jistá. Takže moje poslední teorie je, že tou hlavní zápletkou, na kterou bylo přibaleno neskutečné množství dalších dobrodružství, které vlastně vytvořili celou knihu, je přesvědčování Eliase Sterna, aby se Valentine připojila k jeho nadaci. A jak je vidět, Elias na to jde opravdu složitě. On totiž musí Valentine ukázat, že je ve svém oboru velice žádaná a že ji chce do své nadace. Voi-lá, a na světě je kniha.
Tento spletenec zápletek vytvoří něco opravdu výjimečného a pořádně zapeklitého, nad čím si budete lámat hlavinku ještě dlouho po přečtení.
Podobně komplikované, jako samotný příběh, jsou i jednotlivé postavy. Druhé jméno Eliase Sterna je tajemství a Valentine se dva roky nemůže sebrat z toho, že v Louvru zničila vzácnou skicu Leonarda DaVinciho.
Podrobnosti této záhady se ale čtenář dozvídá ještě později než samotná Valentine, protože Cardetti má velice zvláštní styl odhalování. Hrdinové se o něčem baví a přijdou na to, kdo, jak a proč. Neřeknou to ale přímo a tak si méně bystří čtenáři musejí počkat, až danou osobu konfrontují, aby se vlastně dozvěděli, o co šlo. Tím pádem se příběh stává ještě více opředený záhadami a čtenář se nemůže dočkat, až se vše dozví.
Pravděpodobně je tu spousta lidí, kteří se v umění neorientují a jakžtakž ví, kdo byl Leonardo DaVinci nebo například Picasso. Vasalisův paradox je uměním prošpikován. Ač to na první pohled moc nevypadá, opravdu to tak je. Ale i tito absolutní neznalci umění si knihu užijí, neboť autor neváhá pomoci čtenáři s uměleckou orientací formou klidně i dvoustránkového výkladu. Což opravdu pomůže a vy si potom budete připadat chytřejší, protože budete vědět o něco více. Takovéto shrnutí informací ale ubírá na spádu příběhu, protože když máte dobře rozjetou scénu, vlastně nevíte, proč, například, onen člověk zemřel, a v takovém momentě je vám úplně jedno, že si vrah odnesl něco z kolikátého století a jak je to vzácné. V tu chvíli vás zajímá pouze vrah. Kdo je vrah, udělal to sám za sebe, anebo ho někdo poslal? Tento výklad bych ocenila spíše před konáním scény, protože potom člověk ví, o jaký předmět se bude jednat, a bude chápat hlubší smysl onoho činu a také chování jednotlivých postav.
Milovníci umění by měli po knize sáhnout všemi deseti, nejen kvůli umění, ale protože tam najdou něco navíc. Pořádně propracovaný krimi příběh.
Detektivní závisláci by měli nad knihou uvažovat už z principu, jde o další knihu, která rozšíří jejich řady detektivek a oni v ní objeví něco navíc. Umění.
Obyčejní smrtelníci, kterým nezáleží na žánru, ale vlastně většina čtenářů, kteří milují komplikované příběhy, si knihu užijí hlavně kvůli knize samotné a každý si najde to, co ho obohatí. Není vůbec důležité, zda to bude právě detektivní zápletka, umělecká sféra, nebo hrdinové, kteří přirostou k srdci. Jde hlavně o celek a ten opravdu stojí za to.
July 13, 2012
I picked this book up in my local library and I am jolly glad I did. This is a really good book with much to recommend it. It is not a high paced thriller, but there is enough action to keep you reading. It is set int the worlds of both Academia and the arts, and there is a lot of talk of ancient documents and books. I feel that far from slowing up the book this actually enhanced it. The characters are extremely well drawn and I found myself being able to imagine every one of them. The basic story is Valentine, a restorer of ancient documents is living in disgrace following being disgraced and sacked for he Louvre. Stern, a billionaire and collector of art and books hires her to restore an ancient document. This has been linked to a medieval writer who has been erased by the catholic church. As you can imagine this document is wanted by many and murders are committed in the quest to obtain it. I enjoyed the book from start to finish and the end came as a complete surprise to me. Details of the mystery are unfolded in snippets and at just the right pace to keep you interested. An excellent book which I would highly recommend.
December 15, 2013
This book was a welcome relief after trying to read No Great Mischief for the second time. Not that there is anything wrong with 'No Great Mischief' it is an exceptionally well written book however I found myself getting more and more depressed while reading. This book however was an easy escapism romp through the world of Art dealers and mystery in Paris. I enjoyed the historical aspect of it and even ended up doing some research on the historical figures mentioned. I would consider this a great holiday read and a wonderful break from reality as it transports you through time and countries. I would read more by this author however none of his other books have been translated from French to English yet.
April 29, 2015
A dreadful book. Pathetic dialogue delivered by unbelievable cardboard characters. If this was a stage play I'd be tearing up the seats so I could hurl them at the actors. The story starts out well, but rapidly spirals downwards, eventually fizzling out into nothing at all; the tedious plot explained at intervals by huge passages of monotone exposition.
Much of the writing is truly risible, for example, after a car explodes we read that: "The police suspect foul play. According to their investigators there was a bomb connected to the starter." Really? And they only 'suspect' foul play? You wonder what additional tit-bit of evidence might sway them to conclude that a crime had been committed. Just a small sample of the idiotic verbiage that peppers this disaster. Hours of my life wasted.
Much of the writing is truly risible, for example, after a car explodes we read that: "The police suspect foul play. According to their investigators there was a bomb connected to the starter." Really? And they only 'suspect' foul play? You wonder what additional tit-bit of evidence might sway them to conclude that a crime had been committed. Just a small sample of the idiotic verbiage that peppers this disaster. Hours of my life wasted.
May 22, 2012
A run-of-the-mill thriller involving the international trade in rare manuscripts, a mysterious secret organisation and a multi-millionaire collector/trader. The plot is a bit too far fetched for my tastes, involving a wronged art conservator, revenge and assasination. However I will read other book by the author if I can find one in translation.
July 13, 2012
An enjoyable read,enough pace to keep the book interesting but not so much to let it run away and exhaust you
The end felt a little tacked on for my liking and somewhat ground the book to an UN-resounding halt but was left open enough for the characters to be drawn out further and for another story
The end felt a little tacked on for my liking and somewhat ground the book to an UN-resounding halt but was left open enough for the characters to be drawn out further and for another story
May 24, 2014
A bit slow to start & a lot of information to take in but well worth sticking with as this novel was a thoroughly enjoyable crime story. Set in Paris around the Sorbonne university were a professor of medieval literature is found dead supposedly having committed suicide. Valentine Savi a disgraced restorer is commissioned to restore an elderly gentleman,s manuscript. Well worth the 4*
February 10, 2016
This is how I imagine telenovelas are written. Nothing actually relevant happening for 250 pages, and than, in the last 20-30 pages you suddenly have culmination and everybody dropping dead and a very unimpressive ending. This book is the definition of light read. You can read it with half your brain turned off.
June 5, 2012
It was just ok, I liked though that it was written by by an academic, a lecturer on Italian history.
For me there was too much written about the historical background of the document, the subject of this novel, similar to Da Vinci Code.
For me there was too much written about the historical background of the document, the subject of this novel, similar to Da Vinci Code.
August 24, 2014
Could have been inspired by the Da Vinci Code. In some ways it was implausible, and in my view a little extreme - but in some ways that's the point of this kind of novel. Overall I thought it was a quick and enjoyable read.
August 12, 2011
The story dragged along until around chapter 30 when it suddenly sped up, all the threads came together and it ended. What a relief.
August 23, 2011
Enjoyed this as read it while staying in the Latin quarter! A good yarn. Well written if a bit predictable.
September 8, 2011
Morse in the Sorbonne. Quite enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews