The Anonymous Venetian

A Commissario Brunetti mystery by Donna Leon

When the body of a man dressed as a woman is found dead in a field in Mestre, Brunetti is called in to investigate because of summer holiday staff shortages.

Sending his family away to the cooler air of the mountains, Brunetti remains in the heat of Venice to try to identify the victim and find his killer.

His perseverance leads him to uncover an elaborate plot, seeming to involve respectable people in high places in Venetian society. But lack of proof means his superiors will not bring a case against those he believes to be guilty.

Fortunately his attention to detail in continuing to follow up on an early clue brings about the downfall of the evil people responsible for a string of killings.

This is a gripping novel that keeps the reader turning the pages right to the end.

(Image by Pascvii from Pixabay)

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Death in Springtime

A Marshal Guarnaccia mystery by Magdalen Nabb

 

Magdalen Nabb's story begins in late winter in
Marshal Guarnaccia's home city of Florence

When a wealthy American student is kidnapped in Florence with one of her college friends, the Carabinieri move swiftly to try to find her before she comes to any harm.

English-speaking Lieutenant Bacci tries to win the confidence of the girl’s friend after she is released by the kidnappers and found wandering in the countryside.

And Captain Maestrangelo and a new Substitute Prosecutor organise a massive operation to search the part of the Tuscan hills where the confused girl was discovered.

But it is Marshal Guarnaccia’s enquiries on his own patch near Palazzo Pitti, the area of the city where the American girl had been staying, that yield the clues that eventually lead to the kidnappers.

Magdalen Nabb tells the story cleverly, paving the way towards an outcome that is completely unexpected.

The story begins on the first of March with snow falling in Florence, which provides a big distraction for the local people at the time the young women are kidnapped.

And Death in Springtime ends with such a surprise that it will give the reader something to think about long after they have finished the last page.

(Image by Mark Gilder from Pixabay)

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River of Shadows

A Commissario Soneri Investigation by Valerio Varesi

The landscape of the River Po features
strongly in River of Shadows

This is a novel where the setting can truly said to be the main character in the story.

Much of the action takes place along the banks of the River Po, at a point on the waterway that is an equal distance between the cities of Cremona and Parma.

Commissario Soneri finds himself drawn to the cold, foggy landscape, where incessant rain has made the waters rise to dangerous heights. He is trying to solve a mystery concerning two brothers, now old men, who were both known to be fascists in the past. One has been found dead, apparently having fallen from a window at a hospital in Parma and the other has gone missing, believed to have been out on the river on his barge in the bad weather.

Soneri spends a lot of time musing over clues in the warmth of restaurants while he samples the local food and wine. He is also distracted by having to please his girlfriend, Angela, an unpredictable avvocatessa - lawyer - who turns up at inconvenient moments during the book.

He talks to the old people determined to live their lives and earn their living in this inhospitable landscape. He finds it is a community where people are still divided from each other by the events of the Second World War that took place in the area. He is constantly being told that the River Po both 'gives and takes' and that when the waters fall again, all will be revealed.

Despite opposition from his superiors who want him back in Parma, Soneri remains convinced that the answers lie with the river and he is determined to follow his instincts and continue investigating until he has got to the bottom of the mystery and tracked down who is responsible.

River of Shadows is a compelling story, well translated into English by Joseph Farrell, and the novel is rich in atmosphere and full of local, background detail.

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(Picture by mdall olio0 from Pixabay)

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The Devil and the Dolce Vita

An Achille Peroni mystery by Timothy Holme

Commissario Achille Peroni is asked to look into the reported disappearance of a young café singer from the seaside resort of Jesolo in this third novel in the series.

His interest in the case intensifies after seeing her photograph and finding himself bewitched by her dark, mysterious eyes.

But the Commissario, who has been dubbed by the media as the Rudolf Valentino of the Italian police, finds himself drawn into a web of decadence and devil worship involving the super rich of Venice while he tries to make his enquiries about the missing girl.

His inner Neapolitan gutter kid is tempted by the dolce vita being offered to him but the heroic Commissario part of him triumphs.

He desperately wants to prove that the beautiful young singer is still alive and so he continues investigating, putting his own life in danger.

Timothy Holme again manages to combine humour with drama while telling this gripping and entertaining Peroni story.

(Image by Brandon Wallace from Pixabay)

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A Florentine Death

The first Michele Ferrara mystery by Michele Giuttari

This novel will fascinate any readers who might wish to learn about the methods or see into the minds of the Italian police.

The hero, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara, is the head of the Squadra Mobile in Florence.

He is the creation of a former police chief, Michele Giuttari, who headed the police in Florence between 1995 and 2003 and can therefore write with authority about murder investigations, interviewing suspects and organising armed police operations.

As well as providing an authentic account of police procedure in a multiple murder investigation, Giuttari delivers a cleverly plotted mystery that becomes increasingly more gripping as it reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Anyone who loves Florence will enjoy the setting and perhaps appreciate Giuttari’s portrayal of the beauty and the occasional darkness of everyday life in the city.

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(Picture by Liliy2025 from Pixabay)

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Death in a Strange Country

A Commissario Brunetti mystery by Donna Leon
 

Brunetti investigates the death of a young American soldier whose body has been found floating in a Venetian canal in this second book of the series.

His enquiries take him out to the American military base near Vicenza where he is intrigued by the conversations he has with the young man’s commanding officer, an attractive female doctor who, he feels, is hiding something.

At the same time, Brunetti becomes involved in enquiries following the theft of valuable paintings from a palazzo on the Grand Canal owned by a wealthy businessman from Milan.

His superior officer, Vice-Questore Patta, wants to explain away the death of the American soldier as a robbery gone wrong and treat the burglary at the palazzo at face value.

But Brunetti is not satisfied with these convenient explanations. He demonstrates his passion for uncovering the truth and striving to achieve justice for the victims of crime by pursuing the investigations in his own time and at considerable risk to himself.

We learn more about the aristocratic background of his wife, Paola, an opinionated university lecturer, and the powerful connections of his father-in-law, Count Orazio Falier, in this novel.

We also see the respect and trust Brunetti inspires in his fellow police officers and even in the relatives of criminals.

Brunetti bravely sticks to his task, despite the corruption at the highest level going on behind the scenes, until he finally learns the truth about the American’s death and the burglary at the palazzo.

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Death of a Dutchman

A Marshal Guarnaccia mystery

In the heat of the summer in Florence, the Marshal embarks on a single-handed mission to bring a person to justice for murder.

He had been called out to investigate after an old lady heard suspicious noises coming from a neighbouring apartment and after gaining entrance he had discovered a dying man.

The victim was a young Dutch jeweller who occasionally used the apartment when he visited Florence on business. Although the officers called in to investigate the death come to the conclusion that he has committed suicide, the Marshal has misgivings.

He makes a few unofficial enquiries of his own and eventually has a suspect in his sights. Unable to intervene officially, and conscious that the murderer will get away with it if he doesn’t do anything, the Marshal embarks on an exhausting pursuit of his quarry throughout the city, hoping to uncover the proof that he needs.

It is an intriguing and absorbing story revealing Magdalen Nabb’s detailed knowledge of Florence. It should come as no surprise that the novelist Georges Simenon referred to Death of a Dutchman as ‘a masterpiece’. 

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(Florence picture by Makalu from Pixabay)

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