Monte Verita was once the site of a famous avant-garde community attracting celebrities such as Isadora Duncan, Carl Jung and Thomas Mann. Legend has it that its leader had himself sealed in a grotto in the hillside; when it was unsealed, he had vanished. It is now 1938, and nearby Ascona is hosting a conference on the locked room mystery. A number of the participants are secretly agents for the Great Powers, jockeying for position on the eve of World War II. One of them accepts a challenge to be sealed in the same grotto and escape, but before he can do so, he is himself the victim of a spectacular impossible crime. The author of this complex and elegantly written mystery has been honoured by the Acadamie Française and the Cannes Film Festival for his work. This is his first novel.

Originally Published Original Language Translated
2007 French 2012 by John Pugmire

 

Purchase
Kindle US
Paperback US
Kindle UK
Paperback UK