In Search of Murder

February 17, 2014
Insp. Enrique Alvarez doesn’t mind investigating crimes, as long as the work doesn’t interfere with eating proper meals, drinking the right drinks, and getting enough rest, as shown in Jeffries’s 37th mystery featuring the easygoing Mallorcan policeman (after 2012’s Murdered by Nature). Relentlessly prodded by exasperated and sarcastic Superior Chief Salas, Alvarez tries to determine if the swimming pool drowning of Neil Picare, a rich, womanizing Englishman, was accident or murder. Alvarez interviews Picare’s wife, Cecily, and members of his staff, including the housekeeper, the cook, and the cleaner, with inconclusive results. Salas also insists that Alvarez talk to a number of Picare’s paramours. Alvarez is a congenial guide to the pleasures of Mallorca, even as he delves ever so reluctantly into the violence that sometimes mars this paradise, and if the crime and its solution are unremarkable, the tour is still enjoyable.

June 20, 2011
At the start of this easygoing entry in Jeffries's long-running Inspector Alvarez series (A Question of Motive, etc.), a phone call from Tomeu, a colleague in the Mallorcan police department, interrupts the inspector's reveries about the delicious supper his housekeeper, Dolores, will have waiting for him at home. Tomeu asks Alvarez to investigate the apparent suicide of a wealthy Englishman, "Señor Sterne," found slumped over the wheel of his Jaguar in the garage of C'an Mortex, his seaside mansion. At C'an Mortex, the inspector examines Sterne's body and, bolstered by a doctor's inconclusive postmortem, speculates that someone frightened Sterne to death. Alvarez must deal with the victim's abusive grown children, the taunts of Superior Chief Salas, and C'an Mortex's reticent household staff as he muddles his way toward a solution. While newcomers may find the insult-laden banter wearisome, established fans should be satisfied.

March 15, 2014
An expat playboy's death by drowning in Majorca would be more convincing if the pool were deeper. Neil Picare, who made a fortune selling his farm to eager developers, is enjoying the good life on his estate in Puerto Llueso, Majorca, until he dies in his custom swimming pool. Detective Enrique Alvarez interviews Rosalia Mulet, Picare's cook, who found the body; she says that because Picare couldn't swim, the pool was designed so he'd never be out of his depth. The post-mortem, too, shows no sign of drowning but instead indicates a quick maneuver that someone else could have made to kill Picare instantly. Superior Chief Salas tiresomely keeps Alvarez making the circuit from one likely suspect to another: the naive young housemaid who hoped she'd displace the current Senora Picare; a friend who was overheard arguing with the victim at poolside; an impressive number of Picare's female conquests and their jealous husbands or partners. Alvarez's progress is characteristically leisurely. He spends more time trying to sample Rosalia's tempting Majorcan recipes, and Rosalia herself--that is, when he's not fencing with his exasperated boss, who wants the inspector to look for evidence when Alvarez would much rather be drinking his cousin's husband's brandy. In his own sweet time, Alvarez solves the murder in spite of himself, with a suspect who might not be a surprise but a motive that is. Although newcomers to the long-running Alvarez series (Murdered by Nature, 2012, etc.) may find it hard to get involved in a mystery the hero has so little interest in pursuing, fans will enjoy the latest adventure of this amiably lazy detective.

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March 1, 2014
Majorca, the land of sun, sea, and a relaxed lifestyle, seems an unlikely place for murder. But as Inspector Enrique Alvarez knows all too well, violent crime is comfortable in paradise. So it's no surprise to the long-suffering detective when he's called to investigate the suspicious death of English expat Seor Picare, who appears to have drowned in his swimming pool. The bruises on Picare's ankles indicate he was held under water until he died. But who would do such a thing? Unfortunately, there are plenty of suspects. The nouveau-riche Picare tended to flaunt his success, and he was also a known womanizer, suggesting that one could either follow the money or the women. Alvarez, as always, must juggle the unreasonable demands of his superior (solve the crime immediately, but don't offend anyone important) while chasing down clues and still finding time for his afternoon siesta and cognac. Ah, but count on the seemingly bumbling but instinctively clever detective to overcome all obstacles and solve the case. A fun read with sharp wit, a lovable hero, and an intoxicating glimpse of Majorcan life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)