Suburra

Suburra takes a deep dive into a politically and financially corrupt contemporary Italy, where a mighty local crime family, the Mafia, corrupt politicians, and new rabid criminal elements battle each other for control of a glittering prize—control over a multibillion dollar development twenty miles from the Italian capital.
         During the final days of Silvio Berlusconi’s reign, a massive development proposal that will turn the depressed coastal settlement of Ostia into a gambling paradise, a Las Vegas on the Mediterranean, is winding its way through the Italian legislature thanks to the sponsorship of politicians in the pay of crime syndicates. It’s business as usual in the Italian capital. Or so it seems. A vicious gang of local thugs loyal to nobody but themselves is insisting on a bigger cut than agreed upon. The Mafia and their political puppets aren’t going to back down without a fight.
         Orchestral in its movement and sweeping in its ambition, Suburra is a compelling, provocative portrait of contemporary Rome—a city prey to pitiless criminal factions and political opportunism. Suburra has already been adapted into a critically acclaimed Italian film and soon to be a Netflix Original Series.

Suburra (International Crime)

By Carlo Bonini & Giancarlo De Cataldo

Europa Editions

ISBN #978-1609454074

Price $12.02 (Paperback)

Price $9.99 (Kindle)

521 Pages

Rating 2-Stars

Modern Italy is the contemporary setting for this yarn. It pits a local criminal gang, corrupt politicians and the Mafia against each other, as they battle over a multi-million dollar development project, bringing a gambling casino to a town near Rome. Thankfully, there is a two-page listing of the cast of characters at the first of the book, so we can refer to it to remember who everyone is. As it was, I almost gave up on the story a long time before I reached the final pages. Why I continued reading, I don’t know.

I knew going into the story that there would be violent crime, sex, and profanity, but I stuck it out because Europa Editions usually brings us interesting writers from overseas. But this story is packed solid with crime and political corruption, and I found very little to like in the book. The characters are stereotypes of every Mafia movie you’ve ever seen, and the dialogue is so stilted it left me in pain. There is very little to recommend about this book. You have to be a die-hard fan of violent Mafia and corruption to enjoy this type novel. I am not. Let’s hope the Netflix series is written better, with actors able to bring the story off, but I’m not counting on it.

Tom Johnson

Author of ASSIGNMENT: NINA FONTAYNE

Glass Souls

In the abyss of a profound personal crisis, Commissario Ricciardi feels unable to open himself up to life. He has refused the love of both Enrica and Livia and the friendship of his partner, Maione. Contentment for Ricciardi proves as elusive as clues to the latest crime he has been asked to investigate.

The beautiful, haughty Bianca, countess of Roccaspina, pleads with Ricciardi to investigate a homicide that was officially closed months ago. In the tense, charged atmosphere of 1930s Italy, where Benito Mussolini and his fascist thugs monitor the police closely, an unauthorized investigation is grounds for immediate dismissal and possible criminal charges. But Ricciardi's thirst for justice cannot be sated.

A tightly plotted historical noir novel, this eighth installment in the Commissario Ricciardi series is a gripping meditation on revenge and justice in which each character's soul reveals itself to be made of glass.

Glass Souls (Historical Noir Mystery)

By Maurizio De Giovanni

Europa Editions

ISBN #978- 1609454098

Price $12.19

424 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Giovanni Continues To Entertain.”

It’s September, and serious crimes are absent at the moment, leaving Commissario Ricciardi and his partner Brigadier Maione with nothing to do. Ricciardi is still suffering after the death of his housekeeper, and his lost love, Enrica. Maione is worried about him, but perks up when Bianca, countess of Roccaspina, approaches them to investigate a four month-old murder already solved. Her husband is in prison, awaiting trial, after confessing to the crime, but his wife wants to know why, since she knows he was with her when the crime was committed.

The case interests them, especially if her husband was somewhere else at the time. Why would he confess? Ricciardi knows murder can be pinned to either hunger or love/hate. To be doing something to occupy his mind, they take the case, though it’s against Rome to do so.

Livia believes Ricciardi is homosexual since he won’t make love to her, and Enrica may soon be engaged to a handsome German soldier, leaving his love life in limbo, and it doesn’t help when the Fascists think the police officer is a homosexual. They won’t him removed.

Glass Souls is character driven, each character proving that souls are merely glass, ready to be shattered. Even if Ricciardi can save Bianca’s soul, can he save his own? And will Enrica discover that Ricciardi also has a glass soul?  The author continues to entertain with his police novels set in Italy, whether contemporary or the 1930s. He is the best writer to come out of Europe in my opinion, and I devour every novel he writes. However, I’m anxious for Commissario Ricciardi to settle down with Enrica, and quit leaving us hanging in every novel. Bring some other characters in for romantic entanglements, and let Ricciardi and Enrica have a quiet home life for a change, after all, it’s been eight novels now, gee. Really, though, this is a wonderful series, and I highly recommend it to mystery lovers, as well as historical noir.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

The Bastards of Pizzofalcone

A new series of hardboiled crime fiction set in contemporary Naples by the author of the internationally bestselling Commissario Ricciardi series. 

They've made a fresh start at the Pizzofalcone precinct of Naples. They fired every member of the investigative branch after they were found guilty of corruption. Now, there's a group of detectives, a new commissario, and a new superintendent. The new cops immediately find themselves investigating a high-profile murder that has the whole town on edge.

Heading the investigation is Inspector Lojacono, known as "the Chinaman," a cop with a checkered past who is currently riding a reputation as a crack investigator after having captured a serial killer known as "The Crocodile." Lojacono's partner is Aragona, who wants to be known as "Serpico," but the name doesn't stick. Luigi Palma, a.k.a. "Gigi," is the Commissario, Francesco Romano, known as "Hulk," is the slightly self-deluded lieutenant. Lojacono, Aragona, Palma, and Romano are joined by a cast of cops portrayed by bestselling author Maurizio de Giovanni with depth and intimate knowledge of the close-knit world of police investigators. 

The Bastards of Pizzofalcone (Police Procedural)

By Maurizio De Giovanni

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN # 978-1609453145

Price $18.00

323 Pages (Uncorrected Proof)

Rating 5-Stars

“The Author Is In A Class of His Own.”

Set in contemporary Naples, the Pizzofalcone precinct is about to be shut down; the previous detectives had intercepted a drug deal, but only reported a portion of the merchandise, keeping the rest to sell on the streets. Caught, the precinct was now called the Bastards because of the bad cops. It’s decided to give them another chance by bringing in Commissario Luigi “Gigi” Palma, who originally appeared in THE CROCODILE, and four detectives: Inspector Giuseppe “The Chinaman” Lojacono, who also appeared in THE CROCODILE; Corporal Aragona Marco; Warrant Officer Francisco “Hulk” Romano; and Officer 1^st Class Alessandra Di Nardo. All are considered rejects from their old units, and by reassigning them to Pizzofalcone, they are out of everyone’s hair. Working with them are Deputy Captain Giorgio Pisanelli and Deputy Sergeant Ottavia Calibreose from the original squad, whom were proven innocent of the drug deal. The Magistrate, Dottoressa Piras, introduced in THE CROCODILE, is also a regular cast.

Their first case is the murder of the wife of an important family. Everything points to the husband as her killer, but the detectives must find evidence that will stand up in court. Lojacono and Marco are assigned the murder, while Di Nardo and Romano are sent to investigate the report of a girl held prisoner in an apartment. Meanwhile, Calibreose uses her electronics skills to follow the computer trail the investigators need on suspects. Pisanelli uses his knowledge of the area, and people, to assist in the investigation while also searching for a killer he suspects in a series of suicides.

Maurizio De Giovanni is one of the top mystery writers in the field today. He is in a class of his own. He is certainly the best writer coming out of Europe that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Although the plot and mystery are topnotch, it is the characters that drive the story. These are characters you want to know, they are your friends, and you feel their emotions. They keep you turning the pages, and you never want them to leave you. Highly recommended to mystery readers, and anyone who loves well-written stories with characters that come alive.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH

  

The Eye Stone

In the twelfth century AD, Venice is little more than an agglomeration of small islands snatched from the muddy tides. The magnificent city-lagoon of Venice, the rich and powerful Serene Republic, is yet to be born. Here, in this northern backwater, a group of artisans have proven themselves to be unrivalled in an art form that produces works of such astounding beauty that many consider it mystical in nature and think its practitioners possessed of otherworldly gifts: glassmaking. Presciently aware of the power they wield and the role they will play in the Venice of the future, the Venetian glassmakers inhabit a world of esoteric practices and secret knowledge that they protect at all costs.

Into this world steps Edgardo D’Arduino, a cleric and a professional copyist. Edgardo’s eyesight has begun to waver—a curse for a man who makes his living copying sacred texts. But he has heard stories, perhaps legends, that in Venice, city of glassmakers, there exists a stone, the “lapides ad legendum,” that can restore one’s sight. However, finding men who have knowledge of this wondrous stone proves almost impossible. After much searching, Edgardo meets a mysterious man who offers him a deal: he will lead him to the makers of the lapides ad legendum in exchange for Edgardo’s stealing a secret Arabic scientific text that is kept in the abbey where Edgardo lodges. When a series of horrific crimes shakes the cloistered world of the glassmakers, Edgardo realizes that there is much more at stake that his faltering eyesight.

The Eye Stone (Historical Mystery)

“A Novel of Venice”

By Roberto Tiranoschi

ISBN #978-1609452650

Europa Editions

288 Pages

$17.00

Rating 5-stars

Edgardo, a young cleric, deformed at birth, and now going blind seeks a miracle. A miracle to restore his eyesight in order to copy great manuscripts. It’s the early Twelfth Century, and the church refuses to accept anything new, believing it will not be from God. Yet there is a rumor that manuscripts exist in the archives of a church library that might hold the key to the discovery of sight once more. Edgardo travels to Venice where glassmakers seek great discoveries in their field of art also.

However, Edgardo discovers something else is going on when he arrives. Red-algae is filling the lagoon, and babies and animals are born deformed. To add to the mystery, someone is killing glassmaker apprentices, removing their eyes and replacing the eyes with colored glass marbles. And the cleric falls in love with a slave, which will lead him away from the church.

Although the story moves slow the reader is pulled into the deep mystery, and the characters keep you turning the pages. The historical aspect of early glass making is done in an interesting way, and not at all distracting from the flow of the story; in fact it is embedded into the mystery in a way that adds purpose to the over all story telling. This may not be for readers of fast action, but fans of mystery lovers will find it a good read, as well as having a strong twist at the end. I’m not sure how accurate the historical Venice is, but the mystery is certainly good. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories