Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine is a classic “English Country House” murder mystery that transported me out of lockdown to this spectacular Chilean National Park. Multiple suspects, potential methods, and motives that range from geopolitical to personal kept me guessing how, why and who-dunnit throughout. A great read for lockdown or your next holiday – whenever that’s allowed. Patagonia may be high on the list after reading this page-turner.

by Peter Fullerton

The author imaginatively transposes the classic country house murder to the wilds of a Chilean national park, marooning the detective and the suspects by means of bad weather. Deprived of forensic advice, the hero has to decide himself whether a visiting and very controversial American senator has been murdered, and if so, which of the many possible suspects, all of whom have plausible motives, is guilty. The detective, who has been exiled there because his previous work has already put various bigwigs' noses out of joint, is placed under considerable political and international pressure to resolve this politically charged situation. Along the way, there is some romantic interest.
It's an interesting variation on a classic plot. I'm not a regular reader of books in this genre, but it seemed to me to work reasonably well.
In what is quite a slim novel, the location is well portrayed, while the characters, and the relationships between them, would have benefited from further exploration and development.

by Nick T