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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good writing, November 18, 2008
I debated whether to give this book a 3 or a 4, but in the end I liked it well enough so I went with the 4. Had I the option, I guess it would have gotten a 3.5.
Part of the problem was that the book description doesn't really describe the book, so my expectations weren't met. The only similarity to The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, a book I loved, was the World's Fair. The Paris Engima lacked the rich detail and history. The description promised a "series" of grisly murders, of which there were only two, and only one "grisly". Etc.
I liked the writing, and the main character, and when the story was being told the book was quite good and compelling. The problem was that there were numerous case vignettes put forth by the "Twelve Detectives" which had no bearing on the story and actually detracted from it. If the book had just told the one story, it would have been a really good novella, but a lot of what was there felt like filler, or the author wanting to put all his murder mystery ideas into one place.
Glad I read it, but I wouldn't rush out to read more of the same.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shadows lurking in the City of Lights, November 20, 2008
The witty cover of this book caught my eye when I was looking through the new releases on amazon the other day. I'm very happy I let myself be seduced by it because THE PARIS ENIGMA - the first novel to be published in English by what I understand is a young writer who's already acclaimed in his native Argentina - is quite brilliant. First of all, the setting: the Paris of 1889 that de Santis evokes is wonderfully gothic and mysterious, on the cusp of the modern age, but still full of the darkness of an earlier, less scientific, age. (The unfinished Eiffel Tower is the central symbol for this in-between state.) And then the plot: a serial killer investigation like none other you'll have come across, conducted by a cabal of the world's greatest detectives (aka The Twelve Detectives) and the novel's hero and narrator, the young assistant to one of them. It's simply a superb historical mystery, but it doesn't stop there - if you want, you can also read THE PARIS ENIGMA as a philosophical investigation into the nature of good and evil, of crime and punishment. Perfect reading for a cold winter's day!
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb historical mystery, November 11, 2008
In 1889 Paris hosts the World's Fair. There twelve of the greatest detectives from around the globe meet for the first time. Make that eleven as the twelfth Sigmundo Salvatrio is representing his employer Renaldo Craig who is ill and unable to attend besides being tied up with two murders back home. Two of the investigators Louis Darbon and Polish immigrant Viktor Arkazy claim to be the Detective of Paris. However, their heated rivalry for the honor of top Paris sleuth ends when Darbon falls from the Eiffel Tower just before the gala begins.
Arkazy agrees to train Argentine Sigmundo Salvatrio on detecting although his student is Craig's assistant. They work on solving Darbon's homicide, as the Polish expatriate fears more of the international alliance of Twelve Detectives will be targeted by an unknown adversary especially when a preserved corpse is burned.
Told by the intelligent yet lacking confidence Sigmundo Salvatrio, THE PARIS ENIGMA is a superb historical mystery that uses late nineteenth century Paris (starting with the still not quite finished Eiffel Tower) as the backdrop to an entertaining whodunit. The story line is driven by The Twelve Detectives, whose competition for top gun turns nasty as superegos explode. Fans will enjoy the dysfunctional exploits of the world's greatest detectives struggling to solve THE PARIS ENIGMA with each wanting to be the one acclaimed as the best.
Harriet Klausner
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