Gaudi Afternoon (A Cassandra Reilly mystery) [Paperback]

Barbara Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Cassandra Reilly mystery | Publication Date: September 1990

Cassandra Reilly arrives in Venice to see why her best friend Nicky Gibbons, bassoonist extraordinaire, has been accused of stealing a Venetian family heirloom. With an international cast of characters, the luminous backdrop of Venice, and the author's trademark wit, the mystery is as thrilling as a vaporetto ride.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Barbara Wilson's mysteries are witty, fast-paced, and fun to read. Plus, they have enough politics so that you can tell yourself that reading them is good for you. Gaudi Afternoon, written before "gender studies" became a buzz phrase, looks and laughs at what makes a gal straight or queer, femme or butch, lesbian or dyke, transgendered or translated. Cassandra Reilly, Wilson's wry, savvy, globetrotting sleuth, charges through Barcelona to find a missing person or two of indeterminate gender.

From Publishers Weekly

As in The Dog Collar Murders , Wilson exploits the mystery genre to explore a feminist perspective on timely subjects--here, gender roles and child custody. This latest pk effort falters, largely because the story relies for its effect on characters with mixed-up identities and a penchant for lying. Professional translator Cassandra Reilly turns amateur sleuth when Frankie Stevens needs someone fluent in Spanish to accompany her to Barcelona to locate her estranged husband Ben, who has disappeared. However, Cassandra soon learns that very little is what it seems. Frankie and Ben aren't separated, they're divorced. Moreover, Ben (actually Bernadette) isn't an ex-husband, but an ex-wife: Frankie is a transsexual. The bone of contention between them is their daughter Delilah. Ben fled to Spain to escape the problems of their joint custody arrangement and because, now that Frankie is female, she wants to be Delilah's mother too. By the time the layers of deceit are revealed and Delilah has been kidnapped a few times, the child crawls off to get away from these people and have a nap--proving she's easily the brightest one of the lot.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Seal Pr (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093118889X
• ISBN-13: 978-0931188893
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,573,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly crafted and energetically written mystery, January 13, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gaudi Afternoon: A Cassandra Reilly Mystery (Paperback)

Cassandra Reilly is at work in Barcelona translating novel when she gets a call in London from Frankie Stevens that Frankie's husband had gone missing. Frankie thinks her vanished spouse is somewhere in Barcelona and asks Cassandra to find him. Cassandra obliges and in the course of her search encounters a foot therapist names April Schauer, a sax layer supposedly from Prague, seedy bars in Barcelona's red-light district, dreamlike gardens of Parc Guell, and high adventure in a madcap mystery where appearances are deceptive and surprises are the order of the day. Gaudi Afternoon is a superbly crafted and energetically written mystery that will fully satisfy even the most demanding devotees of the genre.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hilareous Madcap Mystery!!, July 1, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gaudi Afternoon (A Cassandra Reilly mystery) (Paperback)

Barbara Wilson can write! I've also read her book "Cows and Horses", actually I've read it more than once. I intend to read many more of her books.

"Gaudi Afternoon" is written with style, wit and flair. I loved every single page of it. It made me laugh outloud, and kept me guessing.

Set in Barcelona, Spain, the environment is so well reflected in the book, Ms. Wilson definitely is either familiar with the area and it's people, or did extensive research.

The narrator, Cassandra, is kept guessing as much as we are, as the plot twists and turns--but never loses it's reader.

No one is really as they initially seem, from the character, Frankie, who hires Cassandra to find her husband Ben, right through to a surprise about Ben's girlfriend, April!

One of the things that makes this mystery unique is the fact it doesn't revolve around the usual murder.

Everything about "Gaudi Afternoon" is refreshing and unique.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun, quick read, August 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gaudi Afternoon (A Cassandra Reilly mystery) (Paperback)

I picked up this book for a dollar at a local Brown Elephant second-hand store. I bought it because I've vacationed in Barcelona, and I was enchanted by the city. Happily, this book really brought back memories of Barcelona, and was a fun, fast-paced, entertaining read. For a good time, read Gaudi Afternoon!