Extraordinary
People
An Enzo Macleod
Mystery
Peter May
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-335-3 (1590583353)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58058-335-7 (9781590583357)
Publication Date: November, 2006
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): What has happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant
teacher who trained some of France's best and brightest at the Ecole
Nationale d'Administration as future Prime Ministers and Presidents
vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. Talk about your cold
case.
The mystery inspires a bet, one that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching
in Toulouse instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back
home in Scotland can ill afford to lose. The wager is that Enzo can
find out what happened to Jacques Gaillard by applying new science to
an old case.
Enzo comes to Paris to meet journalist Roger Raffin, the author of a
book on seven celebrated unsolved murders, the assumption being that
Gaillard is dead. He needs Raffin's notes. And armed with these, he
begins his quest. It quickly has him touring landmarks such as the
Paris catacombs and a chateau in Champagne, digging up relics and
bones. Yes, Enzo finds Jacques Gaillard's head. The artifacts buried
with the skull set him to interpreting the clues they provide and to
following in someone's footsteps--maybe more than one someone--after
the rest of Gaillard. And to reviewing some ancient and recent history.
As with a quest, it's as much discovery as detection. Enzo proves to be
an ace investigator, scientific and intuitive, and, for all his
missteps, one who hits his goals including a painful journey toward
greater self-awareness.
Review:
Extraordinary
People is the intriguing first book in a series of
thrillers set in modern France by talented author Peter May.
May's novel is a macabre treasure hunt that, fair or not, will likely
be compared in one way or another to The Da Vinci Code.
There are, in fact, some striking similarities but Extraordinary People
is by far the more distinguished book. The pace of the story moves
along briskly as Enzo Macleod, the forensics expert on a quest of
deciphering the cryptic artifacts found at the site of a 10-year old
murder, traverses the countryside unearthing clues. Several rather
predictable events occur that make the journey personal, but they don't
detract from the adventure.
This otherwise outstanding literary effort is marred by a significant
inconsistency in the plot. It is not possible to provide specific
details without giving away too much of the ending, but the rationale
for the existence of the artifacts is, at best, implausible. On the
surface it's all rather clever, but there is a fundamental flaw in the
logic. It is a little disappointing May did not develop a more
convincing argument here.
The presumed premise for this series, celebrated unsolved murders, is a
captivating one and hopefully May will bring back the interesting
characters he introduced in Extraordinary
People for subsequent mysteries.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Extraordinary People for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Extraordinary
People
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-335-3 (1590583353)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58058-335-7 (9781590583357)
The Critic
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-458-9 (1590584589)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-458-3 (9781590584583)
Omnimystery keywords for Extraordinary People
...
Location(s) referenced: Paris, Toulouse.