A fifteenth-century painting by a Flemish master is about to be auctioned when Julia, a young art restorer, discovers a peculiar inscription hidden in a corner: Who killed the knight? In the painting, the Duke of Flanders and his knight are locked in a game of chess, and a dark lady lurks mysteriously in the background. Julia is determined to solve the five-hundred-year-old murder, but as she begins to look for clues, several of her friends in the art world are brutally murdered in quick succession. Messages left with the bodies suggest a crucial connection between the chess game in the painting, the knight's murder, the sordid underside of the contemporary art world, and the latest deaths. Just when all of the players in the mystery seem to be pawns themselves, events race toward a shocking conclusion. A thriller like no other, The Flanders Panel presents a tantalizing puzzle for any connoisseur of mystery, chess, art, and history.
The Flanders Panel
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Julia, a young Madrid art restorer, is pulled into a shadowy world of metaphor when she discovers a long-covered inscription on a Flemish painting: Who killed the knight? Art, chess and murder are intertwined in this elegant, seductive mystery in the manner of The Name of the Rose.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
When an art restorer sets out to solve the riddle of a 15th-century masterpiece in this uneven but intriguing, multilayered thriller, she finds that one murder begets another, down through five centuries. Young, beautiful art expert Julia works in Madrid for the Prado as well as for various local galleries and auctioneers. Her painstaking cleaning of The Game of Chess , by Flemish master Pieter Van Huys, uncovers a Latin inscription--painted over by the artist--with the question "Who killed the knight?" Julia explores this mystery with the aid of Cesar, a middle-aged, homosexual antiques dealer who has become something of a surrogate father figure for her; Alvaro, her art professor ex-lover; and Munoz, a mildly antisocial chess master. When Alvaro dies--possibly murdered--Van Huys's riddle becomes relevant not only to the figures and chess pieces represented in his painting but also to Julia and her friends in this rather seamy art community. The author, a TV journalist in Spain, makes interesting use of the chessboard as metaphor for various human interactions, and his characters' sleuthy analysis of the painting's symbols and the details of its frozen chess game is clever and quite suspenseful. But the characters themselves are carelessly drawn cartoons--perhaps distorted in translation--and prone to rather sophomoric pronouncements on aesthetic and philosophical issues. And--highbrow pretensions aside--the whodunit aspect of the narrative is resolved unconvincingly, with disappointing conventionality. Film rights to Filmania.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a chessplayer. The theme of this book caught my attention and, in many ways, lived up to its promise. The chess and real life dramas are woven smoothly, and the chess strategy and reasoning made sense (with one or two moments of artistic license). The opening intrigued me, the middle game complicated matters, and the endgame brought things to a tidy conclusion.
I couldn't help but wonder if I was missing some of the writer's heart in the translation. The characters are expertly crafted, but lacked heart and connection with me. Although I enjoyed the moves of the deadly game, I had little feeling for those that give their lives in the course of the chess maneuvering. The language, while tight and European-sounding, seemed to be a bit generic at points.
Overall, the threads of the mystery draw tighter and tighter and the author leaves a few surprises for the reader. Some may find intrigue in the chess aspects or the art aspects...I found myself primarly drawn into the strategizing of the villain and those trying to unmask the villain's identity. The suspense was based on the unfolding strategy, such as in a game of chess. And I was captured. Check and mate.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By Ivan Askwith
Format:Paperback
I've read most of Perez-Reverte's texts, and "The Flanders Panel" -- his debut -- is vintage material. Often compared to the work of Italian intellectualist-author Umberto Eco, Perez-Reverte engages new themes and topics in each work, delving into them with a passion and interest that I can't help but find impressive -- in each case, the details are sufficient to let the characters pass for experts, but not overwhelming or boring.
In TFP, the topics du jour are art restoration, historical intrigues, and chess, and the three blend together to create a sinister and satisfying thriller -- I took this one down in about four hours, while on vacation at the beach, and was hooked as soon as the real action started. (Give it about 20-25 pages before you put it down the first time.)
Using the process of a chess game to drive the action of the book, Perez-Reverte manages to make an often-dull game vibrant, exciting, and threatening. I'm a chess fan, myself, but you don't have to be to get into, wrapped up in, or to the end of this book. Diagrams are included to show each move in the "game" that unfolds, and the action on the board is mirrored in real life -- a sinister murder for each piece captured on the table. The characters are believable and well-written, and P-R's prose, as usual, flows well and feels good going down.
If anything disappoints, it might be the ending. Like "The Club Dumas", another fantastic intelli-thriller, the ending feels a bit rushed, and less complete than you're led to expect... it IS plausible, and it ISN'T obvious, and that's enough to make it passable. A rushed ending, however, does not kill a good read, and that, in the end, is what TFP is: a nice, quick, engaging and intellectual thriller, and a nice debut for a promising author. If the comparisons to Eco are inaccurate, it is because Eco tends to give excessive thought and explanation to each theme in his novels, while Perez gives you just enough background info to get you excited, and then runs with it.
BOTTOM LINE: A good strong intellectual thriller for those who find Mary Higgins Clark and her kind just a bit too formulaic. Perez-Reverte scores.
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Arturo Perez-Reverte is an amazing writer, truly gifted not only in the art of spinning a creative and sophisticated mystery but also in jumping the cultural and historical boundaries.
This book (as is The Club Dumas) is a bibliomystery fan's dream come true. Julia, a woman who restores paintings for a living, is asked to help restore a fifteenth-century masterpiece, the painting depicts a chess game between the Duke of Flanders and his knight - but within it is a hidden message - Who Killed The Knight and thus the novel begins.
This book is filled to the brim with fascinating information about art, history and chess. If you liked this book you should run out and get The Eight by Katherine Neville- is another stunner!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weaves a great story!
I am always amazed where writers get their ideas. This is not a formula book but one that has a very unusual route taken from the introduction to the end of the book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Flamo
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beware!
It's probably a wonderful book, but you must be able to play chess to understand the plot. Otherwise, well written.
Published 2 months ago by Siggy
1.0 out of 5 stars
Takes "boring" to a whole new level.
I am an avid reader and there isn't much that I can't or won't read. This book defeated me. The back of my cereal box is more interesting. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Previe
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing story.
THE FLANDERS PANEL
It is an excellent book, in which you learn so much of chess' skills, ancient history and art; as well as human passions and weakness.
It is an excellent book, in which you learn so much of chess' skills, ancient history and art; as well as human passions and weakness.
Published 3 months ago by Viola
4.0 out of 5 stars
a different twist
I liked the plot. The characters were interesting . The flow of sory was good. You will like this especially if you play Chess.
Published 4 months ago by Susan Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
I love this author! His books are interesting, fast paced with characters that develop and work well in story. I have now collected all of his works
Published 5 months ago by Susan D. Miller
3.0 out of 5 stars
More highly rated if you are into Chess
I should think that those who play and know the game of chess will find this an absorbing literary work. Read more
Published 8 months ago by drkhimxz
4.0 out of 5 stars
a literate and sophisticated thriller
This is a slow read, but worthwhile. The writing on art and the Madrid beau monde is sumptuous. The chess game as set up in the illustrations is not believable. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Brenda Teese
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful, pointless, and implausible
I picked up this book after having read and enjoyed Perez-Reverte's The Queen of the South, which is a nicely paced novel about the rise of a girl from the Mexican slums in the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by iratereader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfying, Intelligent Mystery
The Flanders Panel is not one of the many page turners that leave you dissatisfied in the end. An art conservator connects historical events hidden in the 16th century painting... Read more
Published 11 months ago by C. J. Hinsch
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