Panama: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Not worth much of your time.....
Review: I read Panama for my high school book club, and frankly found it quite short of my expectations. The writing is very hard to follow sometimes. Zencey goes into these philosophical musings that seem to have very little to do with the subject at hand. Also, the female characters are very poorly drawn. It's hard to see why the main character Henry goes chasing after a woman he only saw twice, and when there also seemed to be little affection or attraction between them. The end is very unsatisfactory - anti climactic in a way. In all, the novel fails to really draw me in, and is not very satisfactorily written. If you are really looking for a good historical mystery, you'd be better off reading something by Ellis Peters or Glen Davis Gold.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining historical mystery
Review: I read this book several months ago and so I don't remember all the details of it. I do remember that it was a very enjoyable read. The plot is very clever and complex, the characters are interesting and well defined, and there is some action and suspense in some parts. The best thing about this book is its atmosphere; you really feel transported to late nineteenth century Paris. I wouldn't say that it was an outstanding novel, but it definately deserves a lot more than the one star some reviewers gave it.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating Historical Novel
Review: Thoroughly exciting historical novel delivering multi-level suspense by the bushelful.

Set in 1880's Paris, Zencey vividly portrays the failings of the political system and the accompanying corruption in the French attempt to build the Panama Canal. Zencey's background as a historian adds to the qult of detail in this novel. I only wish that he will become prolific in his writings