The Angst-Ridden Executive (Mask Noir Series) [Paperback]

Manuel Vzquez Montalbn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1990 | Series: Mask Noir Series

When an old acquaintance dies under suspicious circumstances, Pepe Carvalho - a private eye with a CIA past and contacts within the Communist Party - begins his investigation. This novel is one of a series of Pepe Carvalho crime thrillers written by a leading Spanish writer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Manuel Vazquez Montalban was born in Barcelona in 1939. He was a journalist, novelist and creator of Pepe Carvalho, a fast-living, gourmet private detective. Montalban won both the Raymond Chandler Prize and the French Grand Prix of Detective Fiction for his thrillers, which are translated into all major languages. He died in October 2003. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852421592
• ISBN-13: 978-1852421595
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VIVA PEPE CARVALHO!, February 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Angst-Ridden Executive (Mask Noir Series) (Paperback)

Once again Montalban builds a powerful story around the original figure of Pepe Carvalho, the gourmet, wine loving, eccentric and philosophizing private-eye from Barcelona, Spain. Montalban achieves, once again, a perfect blend of action, unforgettable characters, mystery, politics, sex and cuisine. There isn't anything quite like this in detective literature. A spy-story written by an intellectual for us to enjoy without the guilt. Montalban is a true poet!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like a Disappointing Wine, after a Good Meal, December 20, 2007

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Angst-Ridden Executive (A Five Star Title) (Paperback)

This novel is part of the Pepe Carvalho series that made Vazquez Montalban character, the 'Nero Wolfe' of European detective fiction. Large sections of the story are turned over to descriptions of the ingredients in meals cooked by Carvalho and Biscuter, which weight on the story. The story itself is interesting if not that original; rich guys murder manager who has found some financial shinanigans going on. The spanish title translates closer to "The Loneliness of Management" or "The Manager's Loneliness" or the 'solitude', i.e. aloneness.

More to the point is that the ending, is really not an ending and because those novels that are translated into English are not done in a sequential way, which means the reader loses some continuity of the characters. There are sixteen novels in all in the series and as of 2007 only seven have been translated and published in English. They are done helter-skelter and I think it makes the series less coherent. Especially because the books are written just before and after the death of Franco and there is a lot of social commentary in them, it weakens the series as a whole.

As an example, this is the third book in the series, but the first two are not yet available. Most readers know that the idea of the series and especially background on the characters is always heaviest in the first couple of books. Had the first two been available, it might have made this one more understandable, especially the strange ending which is not an ending.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of the Angst-Ridden Executive, March 11, 2006

By 

E. K. Green - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Angst-Ridden Executive (A Five Star Title) (Paperback)

I discovered M. V. Montalban with this book (thanks to suggestions from Amazon.com based on recent purchases). I found the protagonist delightful and humourous as a private detective. The book is an intelligent read - a mixture of literature, languages, recipes, and a surpise ending; character development well-done. I have purchased and read almost all of Montalban's books after reading this one.