Death in August

The first Inspector Bordelli mystery by Marco Vichi

Florence during the summer of 1963 is the setting for this evocative story featuring the weary, disillusioned and constantly nostalgic, Inspector Bordelli.

The Commissario is one of the few policemen left working in the heat of the city, which has been deserted by the residents in favour of the more refreshing atmosphere at the coast or in the hills.

Bordelli has to lead an inquiry into the death of a wealthy woman living in a hilltop villa and is helped by a young Sardinian officer who turns out to be the son of one of his former wartime comrades. 

They soon realise that the lady was murdered and start to suspect members of her family were involved.

But proving what actually happened isn’t easy and Bordelli’s frustration is made worse by the heat, the mosquitoes, his constant and vivid memories of combat with the Germans and his hankering for the cigarettes he knows are so bad for him.

Things are made more bearable for him by his kind and loyal friends. Many of them are former criminals and prostitutes and one of them is a brilliant and inventive cook.

Summer in Italy in the 1960s is brought alive by this entertaining novel by Marco Vichi, originally published in Italian as Il Commissario Bordelli and then translated into English by Stephen Sartarelli.

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A Funeral of Gondolas

An Achille Peroni story by Timothy Holme

Peroni has been posted to Venice and is living alone in an apartment bemoaning the lack of serious crime in la Serenissima at the beginning of this book.

But it is not long before the handsome Naples-born Commissario, who has been dubbed the Rudolf Valentino of the Italian police force by the media, finds himself investigating the murder of a lawyer and becoming attracted to a girl from an ancient and noble Venetian family.

Timothy Holme’s entertaining writing style carries the reader along the narrow calle and canals of Venice with Peroni, as he tries to solve an intriguing puzzle involving gondolieri preparing for the annual Regatta and the theft of a priceless manuscript by Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni.

Peroni’s bravery and intuitive detective skills finally help him to arrive at the truth and lead him out to a dramatic denouement on an island in the lagoon.

A Funeral of Gondolas is a gripping story told by the writer with skill and plenty of humour.

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Vendetta

An Aurelio Zen mystery by Michael Dibdin
 

Zen is sent from Rome to investigate a case in Sardinia in this second novel of the series.

It is not the picture postcard Sardinia popular with tourists that awaits him but an inhospitable, desolate, deprived landscape where there is no one to help him when his own life is at risk.

Zen has been sent to look into the violent killings of a rich businessman and his house guests staying in a remote villa on the island.

As well as the suspects in the case and the unfriendly locals, he also has to contend with his enemies within Criminalpol, sinister figures from the murky world of politics, criminals from his past cases and the jealous husband of a woman he has become involved with.

We learn more about the character of the detective from Venice, whom Dibdin describes as having prominent bones in his face and a slight tautness of the skin, especially around the eyes, which gives him a slightly exotic air probably due to Slav or Semitic blood in his family’s past.

This is the face that has made Zen’s reputation as an interrogator. ‘Where other policemen confronted criminals, using the carrot or the stick, according to the situation, Zen’s subjects found themselves shut up with a man who barely seemed to exist, yet who mirrored back to them the innermost secrets of their hearts. They read their every fleeting emotion accurately imaged on those scrupulously blank features, and knew that they were lost.’

Zen needs all his intuition, resourcefulness and courage to help him solve this case and get back from Sardinia alive.

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The Terracotta Dog

An Inspector Montalbano mystery by Andrea Camilleri

Montalbano suffers a serious gunshot wound after arresting a mafia boss and discovering a cache of weapons in this second novel in the series.

He is officially off duty injured for part of the story, which enables him to indulge his curiosity and investigate a crime committed more than 50 years before involving the murder of two young lovers, whose bodies he discovers being guarded by a terracotta dog in a hidden cave.

Montalbano's character is further developed by the author and we see how his intuition and passion help him arrive at the truth in this case. We also see him empathise with older Sicilian people, whose memories he relies on to help him solve the crime. 

The detective enjoys plenty of Sicilian speciality dishes during the novel, which the reader gets to savour second hand. The novel also provides an engaging  take on Sicilian small-town life, while telling a story that is both entertaining and gripping. 

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Andrea Camilleri profile and full list of Montalbano titles

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Death of an Englishman

The first Marshal Guarnaccia novel by Magdalen Nabb

Florence in the run up to Christmas is skilfully presented to us by Magdalen Nabb as the setting for this novel. 

She doesn't just portray the famous city crammed full of art treasures that is so popular with  tourists, but instead gives an insider's view of what it is like to live in an apartment in one of the big old palaces, either as an ex-pat Brit or a working Italian.

She lets us see the city from an interesting variety of viewpoints. There is the Carabinieri officer, Marshal Guarnaccia, a Sicilian who is homesick for his island and misses his wife and family. We also see Florence through the eyes of two English detectives who have arrived to work alongside the Carabinieri on the investigation and we get an insight into the thoughts of the new recruit, the Florentine officer, Carabiniere Bacci.

The novel starts with the discovery of the body of an elderly Englishman in his ground floor apartment. Despite the circumstances in which he seems to have been living, he turns out to be well-connected and from an upper class background.

The Marshal is ill in bed with the flu and his junior officer, Bacci, has to work under his direction while also acting as an interpreter for the Carabinieri captain with the English detectives.  But it is the Sicilian marshal who shows the deepest understanding of the personalities involved and uncovers the shocking truth.

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Death at La Fenice

The first Commissario Guido Brunetti story by Donna Leon

Donna Leon chose Venice’s world famous opera house, La Fenice, to be the main location for her first novel featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti.

The theatre was named La Fenice, the Phoenix, when it was built in the 1790s, to reflect its role in permitting an opera company to rise from the ashes after its previous theatre burnt down and it had become embroiled in a legal dispute.

But disaster struck in 1836 when La Fenice itself was destroyed by fire. However, it was quickly rebuilt and opened its doors again in 1837.

Approximately four years after Donna Leon’s first novel was published, La Fenice burnt down again in 1996, making the theatre front page news all over the world. It was rebuilt in the same style at a cost of more than 90 million euros and reopened seven years later.

A lot of Donna Leon’s first Brunetti novel takes place within the walls of the beautiful 19th century theatre that she would have visited during her early years in Venice.

The book centres on the horrific poisoning of a world famous conductor during a performance of La Traviata. It is a cleverly constructed plot and the novel shows Brunetti’s character developing, as he attempts to bring about justice for everyone involved.

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The Neapolitan Streak

The first Achille Peroni story by Timothy Holme

Considering that this novel set in Verona deals with kidnapping, violent death and the Red Brigade, it is remarkably good fun to read.

Timothy Holme presents his detective, the Neapolitan Commissario Achille Peroni, in a light-hearted way, but we soon see how his archetypal southern characteristics help him get to the truth in the case he has been given.

We quickly learn that Peroni is handsome and has been dubbed by the media as the Rudolf Valentino of the Italian police. He drives a red Alfa Romeo and definitely has an eye for the ladies, but he is also a fervent believer in the powers of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, a city which he misses terribly.

There are times when the Commissario has to fight the Neapolitan within himself to get Peroni to make the right choices. He is not really a brave character but sometimes feels he has to stick his head above the parapet in order to live up to his media reputation.

He enjoys the support and Neapolitan cooking of his sister Assunta, who along with her husband and two children often gives him valuable insights to help him uncover the truth.

Timothy Holme’s first book featuring Commissario Peroni is as entertaining as it is intriguing.

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