(read in Spanish)
Arturo Pérez Reverte is a Spanish author who became famous in the last decade by writing a few good novels. His writing style is the recognizable mystery-thriller, usually involving murder, love affairs, brave protagonists and fair damsels. "El maestro de esgrima" (the master of fencing) is the second book by him I've read.
Telling the story of an elderly fencing teacher in late 19 century Madrid, this novel contains some curious information about a turbulent period in Spanish history, which is mostly unknown to the general non-Spanish public. The teacher accepts an unlikely student - a beautiful young woman, and shortly after one of his best friends gets murdered in what seems like a complicated intrigue. Closely followed by the police, the teacher tries to dig around looking for the causes of his friend's death. The author places quite some emphasis on the art of fencing, which I wasn't unable to grasp, maybe because of having absolutely no idea on the subject, or just because of my lacking Spanish.
This wasn't one of the better books I've read - for a thriller novel it is quite average. It was good enough to practice my Spanish skills though.
Eli Bendersky's website