Caravaggio Books

By Bernard Peterson

Book Overview

The Caravaggio Books by Bernard Peterson released on Mar 25, 1997 is available now for purchase.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 037326237X
• ISBN13: 9780373262373
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Worldwide Library
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

I would have liked to see more from Peterson.

I picked this up at my library because I like these mysteries that have a bit of an intellectual conceit, such as the art-historical mysteries of Iain Pears, and it looked like a reasonable way to pass 2-3 hours. And it was. The plot didn't have many twists, and the resolution was not terribly surprising, but the characters and pacing more than made up for any weaknesses as a genre piece. So I looked to see what other books Peterson had, and found just one thing, from 1980, that might or might not have even been the same Peterson. This one was first published in 1992, but not published in paperback until Worldwide (the mystery division of Harlequin) picked it up in 1997, and apparently not re-published since then. Plenty of authors write a book or two but fall into, or remain in, obscurity, but there's something more poignant about it when the writer is clearly smart and talented. The book could have had a wide appeal: there are planty of other academic-themed mystery series, the characters display nuanced twists on the stock figures of the genre, the book has no present-tense violence (just discovered victims) and little profanity -- making it more appealing to tamer mystery fans -- yet is free from cats, aged amateur sleuths, and other elements that turn off fans of more serious mysteries. Maybe there's no mystery or tragedy. Maybe he had an idea for a book and got it out of his system. Maybe, as my ex-wife pointed out, he might have been single when he wrote the book and then got married and wanted to spend time with his family, or maybe he got a more demanding or satisfying job. Pretty good book, though.

The Caravagio Books

Mr. Peterson does write very well. The plot and characters are well developed.To begin with, the story line revolves around two killings in a college library. Who killed a well liked retired professor and also a less well liked but very human graduate student. The protagonist, Detective Phillip Constanza is likeable and clever. Perhaps, too clever, for the reader who follows the thinking of Detective Constanza is cheated out of a proper denounement. The author never lets us in on his thinking, not even at the end. I couldn't decide if I was too slow on the uptake or the author was playing a bit of a game; perhaps, a mystery within a mystery. Peterson is good and by the way this is the first title in series, but I hope he gets better.