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."
librarything-early-reviewer netgalley2 s Bob Kaplan1 review1 followerRead

In all of his books, Marcelo Antinori creates a whole world of vivid and memorable characters who live in interesting places and struggle to make sense of unusual problems. He paints their lives with considerable panache, sympathy, and humor. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but a gentler humor that comes from a place of empathy and acceptance. The plot moves along quickly, and the plot is fun, but it's the people who make the story!1 Jane2,204 41

The Condor’s Riddle is a kitchen sink of a novel. A huge cast of zany characters and a plot full of politics, drugs and alcohol, religion, family dynamics, a secret treasure, a mysterious dead man, a lost dog, and an archivist.

The main character (if there is one) reminded me of the main character in Being There. In fact, many things from this novel reminded me of many other books and movies, with everything being thrown in a blender for a wild ride. Bebéi is a middle-aged archivist who took a huge risk – he quit his job in France and took a new job in a small village in the Caribbean. He is a dreamer who pays attention to everything around him, and I enjoyed him a lot.

An orphan, he was taught by the uncle who raised him to “work as a submarine – so quietly that no one would notice him, and with such diligence that no one could complain.” (p. 6 of the advance reader copy) And so he did, until he arrived in Santa Clara by the Sea. One day, he is moved to join the school band in a parade through the streets. When the parade stumbles across a dead body and a loyal dog, the whole village becomes involved in solving the mystery. This is very much an It Takes a Village tale. “Poor Bebéi, little did he know what he was getting into.” (p. 27 of the ARC)

Other colorful characters include a drag queen who runs a bookstore, a walking philosopher, the owner of a shaved-ice stand and her three sons (the cop, the Rastafarian, and the petty thief), the mystical blind indigenous child, and too many more to mention.

There were parts of this book that I quite enjoyed, but overall for me as a reader it could have been a little shorter and there could have been a lot less politics. There’s a lot of shenanigans around drugs and money laundering, and drug runners, narcs, and CIA (and other) agents. There are kidnappings and torture. A list of the characters to refer to would be helpful. This could make a great movie in the right hands, tightened up and focused on the most interesting parts.

Love the cover. I was given an advance reader copy of The Condor’s Riddle by the author.

(Note, I read an ebook version but not on a Kindle. The hardcover version on Goodreads has no cover and no page count.)animals fiction lgbtq ...more1 Elaine Tomasso3,199 62

I would 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. Jason Anderson67 1 follower

A Chinese stripper, a French archivist with a photographic memory, a Caribbean ex-president, a Greek sea captain, a German tourist, a stone Canadian hippie, a Rasta barber, and a mysterious dead body...What could go wrong? Unfortunately, the story-telling seems the only thing that could derail this book. The somewhat childish, naïve, clumsy, oafish narration of this story was at first endearing, but after a little while, it became more trying to listen to a preschooler summarize the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I did make it through the book, barely. It really is unfortunate, because there is a compelling story with a plenty of characters that should have made this a hilarious mystery, but it just fell short for me. Some people may really enjoy the style, while others ( me) will find it comes up far short of what if could have been. I do recommend that you read it and judge for yourself, but it won't stay on my shelf to return to any time soon. my-kindle-books Rekha Rao963 47

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 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.books-released-in-2024 netgalley-2024 Shilo GoodsonAuthor 1 book4

I rarely don't finish a book, but I just can't get interested in this book. It is a stylistic choice. I was about 15% of the way through the book when I gave up. There are a lot of characters, too many for me to keep track of. Along with that, the book reads it was written in another language and then translated into English. If you've ever read a book that just doesn't read quite right because it was translated, you know what I mean. The author is from Brazil, so maybe there were some translation issues there.

I feel a lot is going on in the plot, but in the same sense, the plot doesn't feel it's moving forward at all.

This book has some swearing. So far, the violence and sexual content have been fairly mild. I might make an attempt at reading this later. If I do, I'll update the review.

I won this through a Goodreads Giveaway, and I provided a voluntary review. Jan5,469 78

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!archivist caribbean cartels ...more T Olsen1,112 27

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. Marcelo AntinoriAuthor 14 books12

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