The Condor’s Riddle by Marcelo Antinori is a complex mystery that begins with the discovery of a dead body in a Caribbean village and expands exponentially until everyone in the village is involved. The epicenter of the story is Bebéi, who recently relocated from Paris to accept a position as an archivist at the French Embassy in Santa Clara by the Sea. It is Bebéi who finds the body outside the old Dominican convent and feels obligated to take care of the dog left behind by its now-deceased owner. It is Bebéi who is determined to identify the body with the help of the incredible cast of characters who populate the village. It is Bebéi, along with the rest of the townspeople, who is confused when the dead body is revealed to be Don Francisco, a man who was thought to have died several years earlier in a plane crash.

Solving the first mystery leads to a more complicated one when it turns out that Don Francisco was a drug cartel money launderer known as The Condor. The revelation that he was still alive years after he supposedly died threatens local restaurant owner Doña Ilona and anyone in the village who tries to protect her. The investigation into Don Francisco’s other life brings both international intrigue and government agencies to Santa Clara by the Sea. Questions abound as to why Don Francisco came back to the village before he died and whether it had anything to do with his interest in the legendary lost City of Gold. Bebéi and his friends must find the answers to these and other questions before life in Santa Clara by the Sea can return to normal.

Antinori quickly draws the reader into the story with the narrator expressing his frustration that his plan to give the reader more background information was interrupted by Bebéi discovering the dead body. Antinori’s vivid descriptions of the characters and scenes set in Santa Clara by the Sea add local atmosphere to every aspect of the story. While Antinori is a master at juggling all the pieces of this sprawling puzzle, at times the number of characters and plotlines are a challenge to follow. Even Bebéi, whose photographic memory is one of the keys to solving the mystery of The Condor’s reappearance, is sometimes forgotten as the narrative systematically works through all the subplots that emerge. Although Antinori manages to resolve everything in the end, it would have been an easier journey if he had chosen a less circuitous route.

Intrigued by the captivating blurb, I eagerly dove into this tragic-comedy mystery set in Latin America.

Regrettably, the book fell short of my expectations. The writing, with its quirky charm, pleasantly surprised me. The storytelling was commendable too. However, the abundance of characters made it challenging to keep track, as it seemed like half the city played a significant role in the mystery. Fortunately, the narrator, Bebéi, skillfully guides readers through the intricate narrative, simplifying the complexity.

The story takes its time to settle in, with lengthy introductions and the gradual unraveling of the mystery. Descriptive passages abound, contributing to the overall pacing issue.

In conclusion, The Condor's Riddle by Marcelo Antinori possessed immense potential but could have been executed more effectively. I struggled to invest myself in the narrative and found tracking the numerous side stories to be a challenge.

I would like to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy of The Condor’s Riddle, a standalone mystery set in Santa Clara by the Sea in, perhaps, Panama.

A man lies dead in front of the convent in Santa Clara, Bebéi, a French Algerian archivist, adopts his dog, but to keep it he needs to find out who the man was and what he was doing in Santa Clara. To do that he works with a motley band of local residents who have their own agendas.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Condor’s Riddle, which is a character driven novel with quite a few twists and turns. It is definitely outside my usual comfort zone of straight crime, but it has a warmth and joie de vivre that draw the reader in and don’t let go.

Much of this joy stems from Bebéi’s character. He is a naive and relatively simple soul, but one who has a photographic memory. He is also an outsider, who finds friends and joy in Santa Clara, which is uplifting. His friends are colourful and plentiful, and exist on the fringes of society. They all have a voice and a contribution and it takes a while to keep them all straight in the mind. Even the author has things to say.

I’m not even sure that I can explain the plot which involves drug gangs, international intrigue, secrets, horse trading, indigenous beliefs and even a hint of El Dorado. It is quite complicated with all the different agendas and so much unknown. It all revolves around the dead man, his former activities and secrets. I found it fascinating and absorbing.

The Condor’s Riddle is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

The storytelling here is very colorful and expansive, and I suppose some might find it interesting, but to me it's tedious. I want the content of a story to be the base, not the descriptions of everything and everyone.

Interesting characters but the story wasn't written well. It was all right at first but grew irritating rather quickly. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Bebéi was an assistant archivist for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs working in Paris. As Bebéi had worked at the same job for many years, he decided to pursue a vacancy as archivist at the Embassy at Santa Clara in the Caribbean. It was beyond time for adventure. The first development of an adventure beyond Bebéi’s wildest dreams began quite unexpectedly by taking care of a dead man’s dog.

Reading the publisher’s book description, I was intrigued by a main character with a photographic memory that would pursue his career moving from France to a city by the sea in the Caribbean. The narrator of the story alerts readers that there will be many characters introduced within the story. Simultaneous to that time frame of the quantity named sounding worrisome, the narrator has a charming way of assuring the reader of the necessity and the manner for accomplishment without confusion.

I can’t think of a novel I’ve previously read that had so many characters with such integral roles in the plot. I followed the narrative as guided and enjoyed the story. There is mystery, romance, and suspense as day-to-day life in the city progresses, with the involvement of cartels, smuggling operations past and present, politics, and involvement of international entities, to mention a few. It is not a fast-paced novel, even with suspenseful moments, perhaps because the narrator is the storyteller rather than the characters. I didn’t feel as connected to the characters and wasn’t as invested in the story.

Thank you to Marcelo Antinori, Secant Publishing, LibraryThing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this novel.

Note: A post on the author’s FB page shared, "To my Panamanian friends, you certainly remember the Condor stories inspired by the Casco Viejo and published in Spanish by Exedra. I love that story, although I recognize that when I wrote it, I was so bewildered by the Old City that the plot had too many characters and was slightly confusing. Taking advantage of the pandemic, I rewrote it in English, cleaning and cutting what was unnecessary."

expats, archivist, language-issues, local-gossip, local-politics, corruption, multicultural, multigenerational, cartels, Caribbean, island-life, international-crimes, smuggling, political-corruption, politics, situational-humor, secret-agent, embassy-staff*****

The stranger died and things began to change all over their seedy neighborhood as the dog changed Bebéi's life. The friends and acquaintances began to look into the dead man's life and found that he had died over thirty years ago! There is an abundance of characters and many have the equivalent of aliases but some are clearly more memorable than others. In addition, there are a number of instances of situational humor that can slip by unless the reader is alert! Unusual for Americans and maybe British, but much resemblance to other Portuguese and South American novelists.
I requested and received an EARC from Charlesbridge via NetGalley. Thank you!