The Paris Enigma by Pablo De Santis

Hello All!

The Paris Enigma by Pablo De Santis is an interesting book; for me, sort of an alternative history of private detectives. It begins just before the 1889 Paris World's Fair, when Argentine detective Renaldo Craig opens an academy for those interested in learning about detecting--those who enroll believe he is going to finally choose an acolyte, or assistant. Craig is one of the Twelve Detectives, a society known world-wide for their detecting skills, and each one of the Twelve has his own acolyte, except for Craig. Almost by default, Sigmundo Salvatrio becomes Craig's acolyte, and due to Craig becoming ill, is sent to Paris and the World's Fair in Craig's stead. Once the Twelve, minus one, are gathered from the four corners of the world, murder and mystery inevitably result. Will the society known as the Twelve Detectives survive working together?

As I stated above, I felt like this book told an alternative history of how some traditions of detecting came into being, including applying philosophy. I also felt as if the Twelve were sort of like the Greek gods, overseeing the direction of private detection, and developing rules and guidelines.

This was an interesting book, though for me the writing varied from stiff to lyrical; perhaps this has to do with the translation. And thank you to HarperCollins, as this was a title I received as an Advance Reader's Copy.