I can forgive the hokey writing and dialogue because it reflects a different era than today. However, I feel it fair to critique the plot and characters.
The protagonist is a bit of a wet rag in the beginning, just teaching at a local college and living with a cousin, sort of stringing along a local girl with noncommittal interactions. Then he gets money (more on that in a moment) and a Sabbatical, plus a bit of a mystery to pursue and suddenly he's a go-getting, take charge, fall in love at the drop of a hat kind of guy. I didn't see it. In some moments he's seemingly thick (like getting money together and driving to the middle of nowhere to meet men he already suspects are cons) and then others he has amazing clarity of mind (deducing where intriguing books are from and how they came to be where they are). The romance is also sudden and ridiculous, like a 30 year old man suddenly falling for the young Spanish girl after a couple of small talk conversations.
His inheritance: a bachelor uncle leaves him a mansion and funds, but the way the protagonist throws around money to help his new in-laws in Spain recover their property and then some...was his uncle Bill Gates or Kanye West? because that's the kind of money he's spending, even considering inflation. No way he inherited so much money he went from unable to afford his own apartment to almost literally throwing money at people for any and every cause.

The character didn't develop logically, the mystery didn't unfold consistently (lots of slow moments then tumbling ahead quickly), nor was it particularly inventive or intriguing. Too bad. Seemed like it could have been a hidden gem. ( )

Finally gave up on this one. Just could not get into it. ( )