An Afternoon's Delight
I originally picked up this book, which is the first in a series featuring Inspector Alvarez, a couple of months ago. After reading a few chapters, I decided it was a little too light for me and put it back on the shelf. Recently I found myself wanting to read a book that didn?t require much concentration or emotional involvement. Aha! I dug this book out and read it in one sitting.
?Mistakenly in Mallorca? is about a community of rather well-to-do British ex-patriots who live the good life on the Spanish island of Mallorca. When one of them is found dead, Inspector Alvarez is called in to certify that the death was an accident. During the course of his investigation, he questions whether this was an accident and ultimately determines that it was murder most foul.
The book centers around John Tathan, a young British man, visiting his eccentric great aunt on this island paradise. We meet all the members of this tight knit little British community of would-be aristocrats as well as the Spaniards who have lived on the island long before it became a popular tourist attraction. These people are the heart and soul of this book. We do not get to meet Inspector Alvarez until midway through the book when the body is found. The way in which he unearths each clue reminded me very much of Peter Falk?s Lieutenant Columbo. I wouldn?t mind spending more time with Inspector Alvarez and will be looking for other books in this series.
I know there is a moral somewhere in this book but, to be honest, I just enjoyed the pleasant afternoon I spent escaping the troubles of the world and will leave the moralizing for another day.
