Book Review-Southern Seas a Pepe Carvalho mystery

This is my first foray into the world of Pepe Carvalho, the private detective created by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. Apparently, I picked his best work because after I read Southern Seas I read that this book had won all sorts of prizes and praise. I must say that it kind of puzzled me while at the same time it didn't puzzle me because it became a very interesting read as I dug into the book. The plot itself is convoluted as all detective stories should be, although this one was convoluted in that it really did not make much sense logically. The ending was not really wasn't that big of a mystery. What really made this a really good read is that the author writes with a very sharp satirical wit, he is a cynic of the first order, which made for really fun reading. His characters were well drawn and well presented. They were interesting and made you want to delve into the story even more as he has collected a bevy of sidekicks who are colorful and unique. 

 The plot involved the murder of an industrial executive who had gone missing for a long time, but whose body had been recently discovered. The widow wanted to find out where husband had been during his absence, she had assumed that he had run away to the southern seas as he had always wanted to do. She was curious about where he was, who he was with, even though that intimate part of their relationship had dissipated and they both had moved on to other relationships. We were introduced to Pepe Carvalho in the very first scene when we entered his office and were introduced to his valet/cook/manservant Biscuter. Biscuter serves as Sancho Panza to Carvalho’s Don Quixote. After the long and somewhat elaborate introduction to Pepe, the story moves along in inimitable style. Carvalho is introduced to the dead man’s coterie and hangers on. He slowly proceeds to investigate these people: his widow, his oversexed daughter, his lawyer, and his business partners. 

This is where the story gets interesting because these characters are described and presented in a very unique style. They were all described and introduced to us in a very sarcastic and cynical way, which is welcoming because it demonstrates Pepe’s world weariness. Inevitably we move along with the investigation, once the investigation gets underway, it moves along quickly. I was surprised at how quickly I devoured these pages even though I had a really hard time understanding what he was thinking about the case and what he was doing to resolve the mystery. It just seemed like he was moving along with his life and occasionally dipping into his casework. The case was resolved with some action and pretty good description of the why’s and how’s of the committing of the crime. In that process of going through the plot, the author did some amazing writing in describing the actions of his characters. More importantly, he delved into a a panoply of topics: Catalan cuisine, Spanish politics during and after fascism, Pepe’s view of people and the world, the ironic relationship Pepe has with the people around him, and that is the real treat with this book: it is a conversation with the author, a very erudite and free form conversation. 

 I had not realized that I had come to the end of the book, and like all great books, I felt let down that the adventure was over, always a good sign. I will be following up with the other Pepe Carvalho books because he's piqued my interest. I hope the other books delivers as well as Southern Seas did.