This account of the development of the twelve Master Detectives followed by a brutal series of murders in the run-up to the inauguration of Paris's World Fair, you know, the one that unveiled the Eiffel Tower, is ponderous and pondering. The Paris Enigma describes a secret club comprising the top detectives of the world and their faithful assistants, and reports their petty machinations for power and influence, and discusses the classification and analysis of crime. The structure of the detectives' club ostensibly mirrors society at large: the detectives are supposedly men of high social status, while the assistants are commoners; women are excluded; but it also analyses the possibility of upward mobility and reveals that a detective is only as good as his assistant. The novel reads somewhat jerkily as it attempts to intersperse a criminal investigation with a larger rumination on the art of detection; the two halves of this narrative would be fairly trite individually, but together form a sort of clumsy completeness. I was somewhat bemused at the end, having neither liked it much nor disliked it. I've always had a thing for detectives. They can be so mysterious and intriguing, wrapped up in themselves and always in love with the unknown. That's why I picked up this book. (and because of its gorgeous cover!)I liked it and I certainly don't regret reading it but I won't read it again.I loved the setting, the dangerous and dimmly lit corners and alleys, the mysterious history of the Eiffel tower. Also the relationship between the detectives and their assistants was very interesting and novel.But the plot was boring and predictable.Still an enjoyable read for quiet nights with lots of tea and good music.
What do You think about El Enigma De Paris (2007)?
I wanted to like this book more, but it was too wierd and not really my type of book.
—broadwaybyers
I got half way through but it really didn't hold my interest.
—jenny
