Books by author: Arturo Perez-Reverte

I had never heard of Arturo Perez-Reverte until a couple of weeks ago when my friend Beth suggested I would probably love his books. So, in my typical compulsive fashion, I ran out that night and bought a copy of The Club Dumas, which happened to be the only one of his books that evil megastore Barnes and Noble had in stock.

I'm glad I grabbed it. The Club Dumas is an engaging noir mystery, set in a world of old books, secret societies, and hints of mysticism. It's a well-written but infinitely more approachable Foucault's Pendulum, though with less meat. Literary references abound (primarily to Dumas' The Three Musketeers) but recognizing them is not a prerequisite for enjoying the story (lord knows I didn't recognize them — I remember nothing of Dumas).

I had a little bit of trouble following the plot in the first third of the novel, probably because it requires slightly more focused attention than I was able to give it, but I still enjoyed the texture of the prose, and I was satisfied with the way the threads were tied up at the end. I liked this much more than The Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four, but not enough to rate it five stars. I'm looking forward to reading another of his books.

Of the four Perez-Reverte novels I've read to date, The Fencing Master is my favorite. Don Jaime Astarloa, the titular protagonist, is complex and well drawn — he is one of the last vestiges of a simpler and more honorable time, and when he is drawn into a murderous plot by a mysterious woman, the reader is also drawn in. The pace is perfect and the resolution satisfying. It may not be great art, but it's a ripping good yarn.

And so begins my 2004 Christmas book glut. Of the dozen books I received as gifts (possibly a new personal best) I cracked this one first and began my traditional holiday reading binge (newly improved with two screaming kids!).

The Flanders Panel shares many themes (antiquities, old men selling off heirlooms to thwart financial oblivion, and baroquely twisted plots to name a few) with The Club Dumas, but overall it's a better novel. The characters are more engaging, the plot is more tightly orchestrated, and the conclusion, though still stretching the boundaries of plausibility, is more satisfying. I was thoroughly immersed, and even though I had severe doubts through much of the novel's middle that Perez-Reverte could pull off a convincing ending, I was satisfied by the way the loose ends were tied up. The Flanders Panel is a well-written and brainy mystery/thriller.

This is my least favorite of the three Perez-Reverte novels I've read so far ( The Flanders Panel is the best to date). The plot centers on a priest sent by the Vatican to Seville to investigate a pair of deaths in a soon-to-be-demolished church. The priest, Father Quart, becomes involved in the complicated struggle between those who want to preserve the church and those who want to erect a mini-mall in its place.

It's slower than the other novels, the mystery isn't very compelling, and the big "reveal" at the end is a joke, but it was still enjoyable.