The Club Dumas

Fallen angels, satanic manuals, and a passion for the works of Raphael Sabatini and Alexandre Dumas among others—this is the stuff of Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte's engrossing novel  Set in a world of antiquarian booksellers where dealers would gladly betray their own mothers to get their hands on a rare volume, is a thinking person's thriller: in addition to a riveting plot, the book is full of intriguing details that range from the working habits of Alexandre Dumas to how one might go about forging a 17th-century text. Woven through these meditations is enough murder, sex, and the occult to keep both the hero, Lucas Corso, and the reader hopping.

As in his previous novel, , set in the world of art restoration, Mr. Pérez-Reverte has written a literary thriller to tease both the intellect and adrenaline gland. Lucas Corso makes a complex, ultimately sympathetic hero, and there's plenty to delight in the intricate twists and turns the story takes before the mystery of  is finally solved.