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The Flanders Panel (1990)

by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,746793,308 (3.68)155
Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:"A sleek, sophisticated, madly clever chamber mystery" from the international bestselling authorâ??the basis for the film Uncovered starring Kate Beckinsale (The New York Times Book Review).

A fifteenth-century painting by a Flemish master is about to be auctioned when Julia, a young art restorer, discovers a peculiar inscription hidden in a corner: Who killed the knight? In the painting, the Duke of Flanders and his knight are locked in a game of chess, and a dark lady lurks mysteriously in the background. Julia is determined to solve the five-hundred-year-old murder, but as she begins to look for clues, several of her friends in the art world are brutally murdered in quick succession. Messages left with the bodies suggest a crucial connection between the chess game in the painting, the knight's murder, the sordid underside of the contemporary art world, and the latest deaths. Just when all of the players in the mystery seem to be pawns themselves, events race toward a shocking conclusion. A thriller like no other, The Flanders Panel presents a tantalizing puzzle for any connoisseur of mystery, chess, art, and history.

"A beguiling puzzleâ??a game within a game within a gameâ??solved in perplexing but entertaining fashion."â??The Philadelphia Inquirer

"For mystery fans who yearn for literate, intelligent, sophisticated whodunits, Spanish author Pérez-Reverte's highly acclaimed story fills the bill perfectly . . . An inventive plot, gripping suspense, fascinatingly complex characters, and innovative incorporation of art, literature, and music will enthrall readers looking for something a little different."â??Booklist

"This intelligent mystery . . . comes up with a satisfying twist at the end."â??
… (more)
  1. 20
    The Eight by Katherine Neville (isabelx)
    isabelx: Historical mysteries involving chess.
  2. 10
    Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (Patangel, jeroenvandorp)
  3. 10
    The Reconstruction by Claudia Casper (figsfromthistle)
  4. 10
    People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (figsfromthistle)
  5. 00
    Gödel, Escher, Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter (P_S_Patrick)
    P_S_Patrick: Arturo Perez-Reverte has recieved inspiration for his excellent mystery thriller from Hofstadter's Godel Escher Bach, even without some of the chapter introduciton quotes, that much is clear. He uses the bewildering Escherian theme of worlds within a world, Godels incompleteness theorum is alluded to in the monologue of one character, and Bach is discussed in relevance to the mystery too, along with a few miscellaneous paradoxes which are also slipped in, in a similar spirit in which they permeate the more complex non-fictional work. Non-fiction readers who have enjoyed GEB should be amused by the Flanders panel, and I think they should enjoy it even if they do not often indulge themselves in reading fiction. It would be harder to recommend GEB to fans of the Flanders Panel, due to its sheer length, but if you were intrigued by the themes in the story then it should at least be worth finding GEB in a library and dipping into it.… (more)
  6. 00
    le nom de la rose (Patangel)
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» See also 155 mentions

English (58)  Spanish (10)  French (6)  Dutch (2)  Italian (1)  All languages (77)
Showing 1-5 of 58 (next | show all)
Mystery
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
Interessante. ( )
  dmspdlf | Oct 26, 2023 |
Fascinating and cleverly constructed mystery. An art restorer, Julia, while restoring a picture by a Renaissance Flemish artist uncovers a heretofore hidden inscription on the painting, and that leads her to investigate that mystery of a possible murder, the painter giving clues through a chess game depicted in the painting. She enlists the help of an old friend, the father-figure, Cesar, an antiques dealer and a chess savant. There are two murders of two people close to Julia and she feels she herself is in danger. ( )
  janerawoof | Sep 29, 2023 |
I'm conflicted about this book. Most of it was SO GOOD but the ending was absolutely awful. How should one feel? Is the journey more important than the destination?

For me, the story was spoiled when Julia decides to go to the room that the killer tells her to go to, instead of getting the hell out of there. A killer has been stalking her, it seems that he is in the building with her, and she doesn't get the hell out of there?! Bull. Shit. That is not feasible, I don't care how strongly she identifies with Wendy or Peter Pan or whoever. This hack writing device came out of nowhere; it made me lose respect for the writer, and also for the story.

From there it got even worse. I despise when mystery writers resort to having the villain or detective walk us back through the book, explaining who how why at each twist and turn. It is just so corny! Lazy! Shame shame shame. And not only did this eye-roll of a scene exist, but the author DRAGGED IT OUT. Two full pages describing how the killer puts out one cigarette and lights another one during his confession - give me a fucking break. Just end it already, put us out of our misery.

The biggest sin, however, is that the plot just doesn't make sense. Cesar has some disillusioning episode involving chess, and then seeing this painting triggers him to go on a killing spree? What about the mystery in the painting, about the duke and duchess and knight - all we get are Julia's weird drunken fantasies? Hugely disappointing.

( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
8422649241
  archivomorero | May 21, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 58 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (23 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Pérez-Reverte, Arturoprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bovaia, RobertaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Costa, Margaret JullTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kallio, KatjaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Quijano, Jean-PierreTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sichel, SilviaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
For Julio and Rosa, Devils's advocates
And for Cristiane Sánchez Azevedo
First words
A sealed envelope is an enigma containing further enigmas.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:"A sleek, sophisticated, madly clever chamber mystery" from the international bestselling authorâ??the basis for the film Uncovered starring Kate Beckinsale (The New York Times Book Review).

A fifteenth-century painting by a Flemish master is about to be auctioned when Julia, a young art restorer, discovers a peculiar inscription hidden in a corner: Who killed the knight? In the painting, the Duke of Flanders and his knight are locked in a game of chess, and a dark lady lurks mysteriously in the background. Julia is determined to solve the five-hundred-year-old murder, but as she begins to look for clues, several of her friends in the art world are brutally murdered in quick succession. Messages left with the bodies suggest a crucial connection between the chess game in the painting, the knight's murder, the sordid underside of the contemporary art world, and the latest deaths. Just when all of the players in the mystery seem to be pawns themselves, events race toward a shocking conclusion. A thriller like no other, The Flanders Panel presents a tantalizing puzzle for any connoisseur of mystery, chess, art, and history.

"A beguiling puzzleâ??a game within a game within a gameâ??solved in perplexing but entertaining fashion."â??The Philadelphia Inquirer

"For mystery fans who yearn for literate, intelligent, sophisticated whodunits, Spanish author Pérez-Reverte's highly acclaimed story fills the bill perfectly . . . An inventive plot, gripping suspense, fascinatingly complex characters, and innovative incorporation of art, literature, and music will enthrall readers looking for something a little different."â??Booklist

"This intelligent mystery . . . comes up with a satisfying twist at the end."â??

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