THE CONDOR'S RIDDLE

A reclusive Parisian becomes embroiled in an investigation of a mysterious local’s death in Antinori’s mystery.

Bebéi is a hardworking archivist at the French Embassy in Santa Clara by the Sea, which he regards as “a Caribbean village in the Caribbean—certainly a meeting place of adventurers.” The son of an Algerian World War II veteran and a French revolutionary, he takes pride in moving to Santa Clara after nearly three dissatisfied decades in Paris. But his discovery of a dead body outside an old Dominican convent changes his life. While caretaking for a dog left at the scene, Bebéi and a slew of curious acquaintances join forces to uncover the dead man’s identity, including work colleague Carmela, Diocles, a bearded philosopher and popular confidant, dog owner La Pajerita, and many others. The deceased is identified as restauranteur Doña Ilona’s husband, Don Francisco; however, this can’t be true, as Don Francisco died in an airplane accident a few years ago. The plot thickens when Don Francisco is revealed to be a former guerilla fighter and current money launderer known as “the Condor,” employed by menacing drug cartels. This revelation places Ilona in immediate danger from the cartels in question. Antinori’s meandering and amusing work features spirited, affable prose, as if the narrator is directly addressing readers as a gossipy, insistent friend. Atmospheric details creatively illustrate each Santa Clara locale as the daring group of misfits hilariously play detective. However, the overwhelming number of characters is ultimately a detriment, as it requires readers to keep all the offbeat personalities straight. Nonetheless, the conclusion to the mystery nicely ties up its loose ends. Overall, Antinori has crafted a vigorous, detailed, and delightfully quirky tale filled with scene after scene of detailed developments and an author’s confident prose determined to amuse and entertain.

An enthusiastic, if overstuffed, mystery that’s more focused on eccentricities than intrigue.