Perhaps this is the story Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have penned were he apprehended at a circus performance and dispatched straight to his typewriter. Fata Morgana is a solid mystery with fantasy elements that elevate it from sleuth versus villain into an enigmatic and elusive tale tinged with Gypsy mystery, parlor games and extortionist magic.Inspector Picard, (career descending and body weight ascending), is on the trail of Ric Lazare who is bilking high-society members out of considerable cash. Ric Lazare possesses a machine that foretells the future, but this alone does not explain his hold on those in his circle of influence. Picard investigates with the intention of exposing the salon scam of a medium and his costly advice; instead, he encounters the unknown - Black Magic, Grand Bewitching, the creations of a German toy maker, and a nagging foreshadowing of events, particularly his own demise. Picard's sleuthing takes him through Nuremberg, Budapest and Old-World Paris and everything Picard discovers lays in shadows, echoes and reflections. Discovering the background and identity of Ric Lazare (and his stunning wife, Renee, who has Paris bewitched) is what keeps the reader turning the pages. Clues come from:1.) The mysterious death a priest. 2.) A half-Paleolithic family on a one-way forest trail somewhere on the steppes of Eastern Hungary. 3.) A hashish smoking Chief of Police. (“The smoke is rather strong...occasionally it renders me unconscious.”) 4.) A gifted toy maker, his evil apprentice, and ultimately the toys themselves, which are "much finer than men and much worse." 5.) A library in Paris where a volume of century old letters and diary excerpts reveal the true, yet impossible, identity of Ric Lazare and his wife Renee.Kotzwinkle adds amusing sensuality to his descriptions of Nineteenth century Paris. (1861) What other capital would throw a party for the Great Whores of the City? The description of this party and the sauced satyr, Count Cherubini, who hosts it are worth the read alone. Extravagant debauchery Old-World style.Kotzwinkle includes several zestful scenes between Inspector Picard and the ladies - a prostitute, an enchantress, and a woman in a tavern whom he seduces by hiring a gypsy Cymbolom player to envelop her in aural foreplay. Picard is quite the ladies man and these scenes show that while he may be an old dog, the learning of new tricks isn't necessary if the old ones are masterfully performed.
Do You like book Fata Morgana (1996)?
I'm not going to lie, I 100% bought this book because of the cover. My local bookstore had a 1st edition in amazing shape from 1977 and I took a chance on it without really reading the description. What's not to like, mysterious shadowy man leering over a prone have naked woman in a giant moon mask. It's basically a detective story in Paris 1861 with the detective trying to build a case against a magician and his beautiful wife. Loved it! The characters were great, the feel & dialog acceptibly noir and I loved the scenes where the book included these amazing toys. That aspect of the story reminded me a lot of some of my favorite Steven Millhauser's short stories.Pumped I picked it up and would definitely recommend it.
—Grant Reynolds
Magic carpets to the stars, noble suckers, magic carpets for all! Fata Morgana is a mirage, a trick of the light, a sleight of hand from a skilled magician that cons the audience into believing for a moment in the presence of supernatural forces. Yet, after the show, you go back to the real world and shake your head in wonder at how you've been played. The novel succeeds in creating this special atmosphere and maintaining an air of secrecy and ambiguousness, but for me it was just a step too clever, too smug in its twist ending ((view spoiler)[ ... it was all a dream and Picard wakes back up, to repeat the same plot all over again (hide spoiler)]
—Algernon
