Martin Suter: Allmen und die Libellen (German language, 2011, Diogenes)
194 pages
German language
Published Nov. 18, 2011 by Diogenes.
"A thrilling art heist escapade infused with European high culture and luxury that doesn't shy away from the darker side of human nature. Johann Friedrich von Allmen, a bon vivant of dandified refinement, has exhausted his family fortune by living in Old World grandeur despite present-day financial constraints. Forced to downscale, Allmen inhabits the garden house of his former Zurich estate, attended by his Guatemalan butler, Carlos. When not reading novels by Balzac and Somerset Maugham, he plays jazz on a Bechstein baby grand. Allmen's fortunes take a sharp turn when he meets a stunning blonde whose lakeside villa contains five Art Nouveau bowls created by renowned French artist Emile Galle and decorated with a dragonfly motif. Allmen, pressured to pay off mounting debts, absconds with the priceless bowls and embarks on a high-risk, potentially violent bid to cash them in. This is the first of a series of humorous, …
"A thrilling art heist escapade infused with European high culture and luxury that doesn't shy away from the darker side of human nature. Johann Friedrich von Allmen, a bon vivant of dandified refinement, has exhausted his family fortune by living in Old World grandeur despite present-day financial constraints. Forced to downscale, Allmen inhabits the garden house of his former Zurich estate, attended by his Guatemalan butler, Carlos. When not reading novels by Balzac and Somerset Maugham, he plays jazz on a Bechstein baby grand. Allmen's fortunes take a sharp turn when he meets a stunning blonde whose lakeside villa contains five Art Nouveau bowls created by renowned French artist Emile Galle and decorated with a dragonfly motif. Allmen, pressured to pay off mounting debts, absconds with the priceless bowls and embarks on a high-risk, potentially violent bid to cash them in. This is the first of a series of humorous, fast-paced detective novels devoted to a memorable gentleman thief who, with his trusted sidekick Carlos, creates an investigative firm to recover missing precious objects."--provided by Amazon.com.
Ein wenig kurz, aber unterhaltsam. Das Buch überzeugt weniger durch sein spannende Handlung noch durch komplexe Krimisettings, sondern durch seine ausgesprochen charmante Sprache und die Gabe des Autors Figuren zum Leben zu erwecken. Für einen Sonntag Nachmittag sehr gelungen.
