Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Giuttari writes mysteries out of his hard-won expertise as head of the Florence police from 1995 to 2003. Famous for investigating the workings of the Chinese Mafia in Italy and reopening investigation of the Monster of Florence serial killings (Hannibal Lecter is reputed to have been modeled after Il Monstro ) that terrorized Florence from the late 1960s through the 1980s, Giuttari also brings an Italian's appreciation of food, opera, and the tangled history and the architectural, pictorial, and scenic beauties of Florence. In his latest mystery, set in 1999, a series of savage killings again rock Florence and police superintendent Michele Ferrara. The deaths, preceded by threatening notes to Ferrara, are staged for maximum shock effect throughout the city. The novel works on many levels. It contains a more than credible cop hero with an engaging private life, a teeth-grinder of a mystery, and marvelous guidance to the wonders and terrors of Florence. Fans of Donna Leon will especially love Giuttari's style and sense of place and may even find Giuttari more attentive to Florentine scenery than Leon is to the Venetian landscape.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The two faces of Florence-one a beautiful courtesan offering its bounty of fine art, the other jealously guarding secret plots and betrayals-dominate Giuttari's strong debut, a crime novel that reflects the author's expertise as a former police chief. Chief Supt. Michele Ferrara, after 20 years on Florence's police force, remains in love with both his wife, Petra, and his adopted city, which has taught him "evil, and only evil, is immortal and never fades." After receiving an anonymous threatening letter announcing the start of a new series of homicides, Ferrara gets on the case, though he remains haunted by the earlier unsolved "Monster of Florence" murders that have made him suspect political collusion and corruption. An honest, compassionate cop, Ferrara patiently works his way to a tortuous and shocking solution, providing a stable focal point in a city "rotting under the weight of appearances," a microcosm, perhaps, of all 21st-century civilization. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
