The Final Problem by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

About the Book:

June, 1960. Rough weather at sea leaves a group of strangers stranded on the idyllic Greek island of Utakos, all guests of the only local hotel. Nothing could prepare them for what happens next: Edith Mander, a quiet British tourist, is found dead inside a beach cabana. What appears at first glance to be a clear suicide reveals possible signs of foul play to Ormond Basil, an out-of-work but still well-known actor who in his glory days portrayed the most celebrated detective of all time. Accustomed to seeing him display Sherlock Holmes’ amazing powers of deduction on the big screen, the other guests believe that the actor is the best equipped to uncover the truth.

But when a second body is discovered, there is not a doubt in Basil’s mind: a murderer walks among them. What’s more, the killer is staging each crime as a performance, leaving complex clues that bear an eerie resemblance to those found in the pages of Conan Doyle stories. This is a criminal who knows every trick in the book and is playing a deadly literary game. As the storm rages, Basil must become the genius detective he has only pretended to be.

This clever, whip-smart, locked-room mystery from internationally bestselling author Arturo Pérez-Reverte is a love letter to golden-age detective novels. The Final Problem delights in exploring the tension between an investigator and his suspects, as well as a writer and his reader, delivering a revelatory twist that will shock even the sharpest of mystery fans. 

My Review:

I grew up reading Agatha Christie and I liked the similar style of plot and writing for this book. A locked room mystery is always fun and there are two to solve here. And then there is another murder. Place all of the people, suspects, victims and investigator on the same isolated island and you have a kind of double salute to Agatha Christie. The idea of a Holmes actor being tasked with solving the mysteries is fun. We get to see how much he has learned from studying for and then playing the part. Those who are familiar with the books and movies featuring Holmes will appreciate all the references to them here. Unfortunately, the denouement revealed many facts readers had no way of knowing, precluding solving the mystery.

Being a translation, I felt it read very well. I don't know if that shows the skill of the author or the translator. This is an enjoyable mystery for readers who like ones set in an interesting literary historical time.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Arturo Pérez-Reverte was born in Cartagena, Spain, in 1951. He was a war correspondent for twenty-one years and covered eighteen armed conflicts for newspapers and television. With more than twenty-seven million books sold worldwide, translated into forty languages, many of his works have been made into films and television. Today, he devotes his life to literature and to sailing. He is a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Mulholland Books, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)