The Mask of Verdon and Burger with Fries

Today we have a novella written by Switzerland novelist Nick Roth called, “The Mask of Verdon.”  This is a book where things are not as they seem and reality has a way of getting distorted.  This is a new book as it has just been released on April 1, 2025 and it is a short read.  So if you have a couple hours to kill and would like to learn a few hidden secrets, lets take a look at this debut mystery, together.

The Story

Eminent psychiatrist Doctor Alex Alder had this patient who was deeply troubled and found dead under mysterious circumstances.  He remembers how his patient talked about his birthplace called Verdon.  How a lot of things happened to him there and the good doctor thinks that the answers to this man’s death lay in this town. 

So, he checks into this small hotel in this small town and looks to find out more of its history.  Little does he know that this timeless little place holds many dark secrets and past hurts that could cause some serious damage.  Alex has some past pain of his own and he will have to come to terms with it if he wants to get out of this situation alive.  Can he though?

Click the pic to buy the book

My Review

Like this book, I will keep this short and sweet.  The theme and storyline has some great potential.  The blurb on the back is enough to hook you and wanting to find out what happens.  I love hearing about ghosts from the past coming back to haunt you, and mysteries that if uncovered will cause great threats to a person if not the world.  However, because this book is so short, there was just not a lot to it.  Everything started off quite slow and it was only by the last (and longest) chapter that everything just came with a bang.  It seemed a little too quick when it could have been fleshed out a little better to make it intriguing.

That being said, we learn a lot about Doctor Alex but not enough to be sympathetic to him and his own troubles.  I applaud that he has enough compassion and curiosity to find out what happened to his patient that died but I still felt that I did not know enough about him.  The same goes for the villain.  Not to give away any spoilers but we don’t see them until the very end and even then, it just seemed like a random happening.  We know nothing of the motives nor do we know what their thought process was.  There could have been more here too.

One review on the Amazon page had it right when they said, “It is like an old episode of the Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt.”  This is true but usually after one of those episodes, you are still talking about it.  After reading this, I still had questions that were left unanswered and everything else was easily forgotten.  I was hoping for more. 

The Pairings

As Alex goes to a local diner, it seemed like classic diner food is the perfect pair for this book.  I recommend the quick and easy burger with fries that does not have anything trendy or even that great on it but leaves your hunger sated.  Which is sadly how I feel about this book.  The burger itself has only a basic patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle (it’s saving grace), and a white bun.  So yes, unfortunately not very flavourful but at least the fries were good especially with some ketchup.  Let’s face it, It would be hard to screw fries up.  

Just the typical burger…nothing special

The Rating/Final Thoughts

4/10

I’m sad to say that this was not my favourite book and I am disappointed.  It was great to read over a lunch hour when I had some time to kill and not-the-best burger to eat.  I don’t want to stop anyone from reading this book especially since the man is a new author.  I fully support new authors.  He had a great idea but so many blanks needed to be filled.  I wish him the best, and hope that he continues to write.  All he can do now is improve. 

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Fairytale and Irish Afternoon Tea

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Au Pair Affair with Lemon Curd Blueberry Ice Cream