Sunken Ships & Jesuit Bribery

The Nautical Chart, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Although an at times entertaining thriller with an intriguing backstory, The Nautical Chart fails to deliver completely. Not on par with Pérez-Reverte's best writing, but it is a decent read.

The setting is modern-day Spain. Coy is a merchant mariner with a revoked pilot's license after the vessel he was guiding ran aground during his watch. He's out of work, low on cash, and spends his days wandering around the docks, wishing himself back on the open sea - the only place he feels comfortable. Coy is obsessed with all things nautical, and often visits local auctions of nautical oddities, even though most are far beyond his means. At one such auction, a 17th century nautical chart of the Spanish coast by one Urrutia Sarcedo sells for a sizeable sum. The bidder is Tanger Soto, a beautiful, enigmatic woman who works for the Madrid Naval Museum. Coy steps in to ameliorate an altercation after the auction between Tanger and the man she outbid, a charismatic gent of dubious motives by the name of Nino Palermo. Tanger thanks Coy, and once she learns of his nautical and diving experience, asks him to help her locate the wreck of the Dei Gloria, a Jesuit ship sunk by pirates in the 17th century somewhere off the coast of Spain. Although the official documents say otherwise, certain correspondence and investigation into the historical climate imply that this wasn't just any Jesuit ship - she was carrying some very important passengers who may have been transporting something of incredible value.

Coy and Tanger delve into the mystery of the Dei Gloria on both land and sea, poring over maps and documents before they move on to sonar and sandblowing on the ocean floor. There are constant threats to their lives, as Palermo and his henchmen attempt to compromise their project at every turn.

The historical mystery of the Dei Gloria is a great plotline, compelling and interesting. The rest of the story feels a bit Hollywood-esque, with contrived scenes to raise the pace of the narrative. Unfortunately these exciting - if a tad cheesy - action-packed sequences are sprinkled among several lengthy, boring passages about Coy's yearning for Tanger. On the whole it's a good read, but it falls far short of Pérez-Reverte's wonderful Queen of the South, and it's probably somewhere in the middle in terms of quality of his other mystery/thriller novels. I wouldn't put this at the top of your reading list.