Václav Erben's detective story with the elegant Captain Exner
"The small town of Opolná is shaken by a murder. The killer is one of the locals. Nobody liked dead Rambous here. Captain Exner, who's here on leave, is on the trail. A killer was walking down the avenue of mature trees. The trees were old and the killer was smiling. "
With this sentence, Václav Erben's detective story The Death of a Talented Shoemaker begins, so the murderer appears on the scene in the very first second. Of course, we have no idea who this cynical murderer is, who walks away from his bloody work with a smile on his lips. Only the famous trio of criminologists Vlček, Beránek and Exner will reveal his identity. Let's stop for a moment at the names that, in Václav Erben's series of detective stories, disingenuously fulfil the Latin saying nomen omen. Vlček smokes a pipe (just like his more famous colleague Sherlock Holmes), or at least he tries to (it's not Sherlock Holmes after all) and he is an exact scientist type. Lamb has a snack, a tummy and a notebook in which he writes everything down. Presumably, he would have a laptop in 2022, while Vlček would carry a laptop with him. Vlček and Beranek (could it be that the author was led to choose these names by the famous good cop/bad cop scheme? ) is unexpectedly complemented by a Western-style policeman with a penchant for fine food, tailored suits and beautiful women, and sitting behind the wheel of a polished convertible - Captain Exner.
The detective story Death of a Talented Shoemaker was made into a film starring Jiří Kodet in 1982. In the radio adaptation, the role of the narrator is taken on for the third time by Tomáš Jirman, who was directed by Tomáš Soldán.
