By My Hand: A Commissario
Ricciardi Mystery.
As 1930s Naples prepares for
its holiday celebrations, terrible poverty and blinding desperation lurks
behind the façade of order and happiness imposed by the fascist regime.
In a luxurious beachfront apartment
lie in the bodies of the fascist militia officer and his wife. A statuette of
the patron saint of workers lies in pieces on the floor beside them. At the
scene of the crime, Commissario Ricciardi, who possesses the dubious gift of
being able to see and hear the last seconds of the lives of those who have
suffered violent deaths, listens to the enigmatic final words of the fated
couple. Accompanied by his faithful partner, Brigadier Raffaele Maione, the Commissario
will have to trace a wide and frenetic arc through the streets of Naples in
order to uncover the truth behind the grisly murder.
By My Hand (Mystery)
By Maurizio de Giovanni
ISBN #978-1609652063
Price $17.00
351 Pages
Rating 5-Stars
“Well Written, Gritty, And Emotionally Moving.”
Commissario Ricciardi and Brigadier Marion, detectives
of the Mobile Patrol in Naples of 1931, are called in to investigate the
murders of a Port captain, Emanuele Garofalo and his wife, Costanza in their expensive
apartment. It’s the week before Christmas, and the room is bloody. The vicious
murders were committed with a knife. The investigation reveals that Captain
Garofalo was in charge of the fishing licensing, and may have been demanding
payment from fisherman to keep working their nets. These are people who are
already living in poverty, and forcing them to pay more leaves them without money
for food and medicine. Also, Garofalo is a member of the Legion, a Fascist
group that overseas the security of the Port.
As everyone prepares for Christmas, the gruesome
investigation leads the investigators to homes of poor fishermen who hated the
captain and wanted him dead. Any of them could be suspects, yet they work hard
to feed their families, and brag that they could have killed him. And someone
must go to jail for the murders. Will it tear a family apart, or lead somewhere
else?
This is the fifth story in the Commassario Ricciardi
mysteries and one of the best crime series coming out of Europe, and Maurizio
de Giovanni one of the best authors from Italy I’ve ever read. There’s hint
that this may be the last book in the series, but I hope not. The author weaves
a twisting tale of mystery set in Fascist Naples of the 1930s. Commassario Ricciardi
is cursed with second sight; he sees the corpse still in place long after it
has been removed, and hears their last words spoken before death. Words that
are possible clues, but nothing that identifies their murderer. Still he’s
haunted by their ghosts, and driven to find their killers. There is little or
no humor in these stories, and strong emotion pulls at the readers to turn the
pages till the case is solved, and a murderer in custody. Highly recommended to
mystery fans, and lovers of good story telling.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
No comments:
Post a Comment