If anyone ever tells you that thrillers can't be "literary" then point them at this novel. Gruber does an excellent job of developing his oddball characters while at the same time spinning out a tale full of twists and turns as the players attempt to decipher coded documents and track down a long-lost Shakespeare play. Most thrillers read like outlines for a good novel, with all the meaty parts left out. Not so Gruber's book. It's got plenty of meat to chew on.
That's not to say that I didn't see the ending coming. In fact, the plot follows the well worn path of countless thrillers before it. We have the search for a Maguffin, the double and triple cross, the unsuspected villain, the clueless narrator, the chase scene, and so forth and so on. But it's great fun and a wonderful read.
Link to Amazon:
The Book of Air and Shadows: A Novel
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