Here is my review for the book. It was a goodie and one that should be read.
An Argentine student visits Oxford to study more in the mathematical field. He has a wonderful landlady Mrs. Engleton who helped in World War 2. One day, after spending time at the Mathematical Institute, he comes back to pay rent to find Mrs. Engleton. He is there with his mentor Arthur Seldom who has only arrived at Mrs. Engleton’s place because of a note he received in his pigeonhole. But it is just the beginning of a series of symbols and murders and it appears that the murderer is basing all of it on Math Theory. The student and Mr. Seldom get thrust into this mystery and trying to figure out what will happen next before it occurs.
This is the only book I know of that is written by Mr. Martinez and I found it fascinating. It reminded me a little of the TV show “NUMBERS”, and the whole process that the student and Mr. Seldom had to do was interesting. Mr. Martinez has a wonderful way with words and I was able to feel a part of the book as the events unfolded. Everything was explained well enough so that if you don’t know much about math, you won’t be lost on the process as it is revealed. That was what impressed me the most about his writing is that I never felt he was trying to be haughty. He was getting his point across in a way that was easy to understand. The twists at the end surprised me but that is normal for me. I don’t normally figure things out until all is unveiled at the end. Yet I really enjoyed how it ended it was different than what I have read before.
I wish the Argentine student had been given a name but it wasn’t the first novel that I had come across that was written like this. I really liked Arthur Seldom cause he was likable and really knew what he was talking about as well. He was really personable but yet he had secrets to hide. The other minor characters were interesting too from Mrs. Engleton to Lorna, the student’s love interest. They all had their little quirks that made me like them all.
If you are a mystery buff, you’ll not only love it but want to find out the answer to Who did it?. Now if you are someone who likes math on top of that, this book is perfect for you. I hope there are more written by Guillermo Martinez that are mysteries because this one was an excellent book. It would be fun to see what else this man could write about as well. It was a thrill ride and I had a good time.
I give it a 4/5 cause I didn’t always care for the math but it was a very well written book and I did enjoy it!
Now onto An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers the second book in the Mark of the Lion Triology. I can't wait to see what happens next. :)
