The Final Solution

A short novella, this is Chabon's tribute to the stories of Conan Doyle. The protagonist is never named, being referred to only as ‘the old man', but is described as an 89 year old former consulting detective, now retired and keeping bees on the Sussex Downs. The inference is clear. Chabon fashions an intriguing wartime story about a mute boy, his missing parrot, and the series of strange German numbers the parrot recites.

For all the old man's deductive powers he never uncovers the mystery of those numbers. It is left to the reader to fit the pieces together because we know, from history, what the old man does not.

An enjoyable read for any fan of Sherlock Holmes.