Like a certain thriller with an omnipresence over the bestseller lists, Javier Sierra’s THE SECRET SUPPER also bases a great deal of its plot on clues hidden in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper. But that’s as far as commonalities go, as this is no mere copycat.
Rather than being a contemporary, adrenaline-fueled ride, THE SECRET SUPPER is set in the late 1400s as da Vinci paints his depiction of Jesus Christ and his disciples. da Vinci’s even a central character, as the Catholic Church – tipped off by the Soothsayer that da Vinci may be hiding heretical symbols and ideas in his artwork – dispatches Father Agostino to Milan to use his code-bustin’ skills to uncover the truth. What he finds, of course, is far more complicated, what with all the dead bodies and all.
Already a bestseller in Sierra’s Spain, THE SECRET SUPPER is likely to find success on these shores as well, given our nation’s unwavering enthusiasm for everything da Vinci. But the love may be short-lived, as the words on the page fail to come alive. This could be a fault of the text’s translation from Spanish to English; at least the appeal of the underlying mystery remains intact.
And even as my mind – awash in a sea of similar-sounding Italian names, hampering distinction between characters – was tested from start to finish, Sierra’s idea is strong enough to have held my interest. But I’m afraid his big revelation left me asking, “Is that all there is?” –Rod Lott
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I agree wholeheartedly I feel like I continued reading the book to see when the excitement would start. And the climax (or lack thereof) was very disappointing.