I will have vengeance The winter of Commissario Ricciardi

Maurizio De Giovanni, 1958-

Book - 2012

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MYSTERY/Degiovan Maurizio
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Subjects
Genres
Historical fiction
Mystery fiction
Published
New York : Europa Editions c2012.
Language
English
Italian
Main Author
Maurizio De Giovanni, 1958- (-)
Other Authors
Anne Milano Appel (-)
Item Description
"World noir"--Cover.
Physical Description
216 p. ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781609450946
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The first English translation of veteran Italian crime writer de Giovanni, this murder mystery set in Fascist 1930s Italy introduces new readers to haughty homicide detective Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi. A loner cursed with a "scar on his soul," Commissario Ricciardi can see in his mind's eye the final moments in the lives of victims "who had died violently," an ability that has propelled him to the top of his profession. Arnaldo Vezzi-revered by opera audiences as the world's greatest tenor but reviled by everyone who knew him-is fatally stabbed with a large shard of a mirror in his dressing room before a performance of Pagliacci. Ricciardi re-creates the prelude to murder in his mind and hears Vezzi softly rehearsing his lines, which include the Italian words of this book's title. Under pressure from his superior, who is eager to deliver swift justice in such a high-profile case and win Il Duce's praises, the detective pieces together two disparate storylines for a drawn-out but didn't-see-it-coming denouement. Appel deserves credit for retaining de Giovanni's distinct brand of noir in her translation, which will appeal to Agatha Christie and Manuel Vazquez Montalban fans. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.


Review by Library Journal Review

Commissario Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi sees dead people. Not only in his job as a homicide detective on the Naples police force but in visions of their final moments. "Not all of them, and not for long: only those who died violently and only for a period of time that revealed extreme emotion, the sudden energy of their final thoughts." This unusual gift is both a blessing and curse, enabling the green-eyed 31-year-old Ricciardi to solve crimes successfully but also condemning him to a life of isolation and loneliness, except for the young woman he loves from afar but cannot bring himself to meet. His latest case involves the brutal slaying of tenor Arnaldo Vezzi in his dressing room at the San Carlo Theater. Because the famous opera singer had ties to Mussolini (this is 1931 fascist Italy), Ricciardi's sycophantic boss pressures him to solve the case quickly. But the meticulous commissario will not be rushed, especially when the tenor's ghost sings a final aria to him, a clue he must interpret. Verdict A well-deserved 2012 finalist for the Crime Writers Association International Dagger Award and elegantly translated by Appel, this melancholy debut entry in a quartet introduces a most unforgettable sleuth who might remind some readers of Charles Todd's ghost-haunted Insp. Ian Rutledge. De Giovanni's backstage depictions will appeal to Donna Leon fans, and the historical backdrop of Mussolini's Italy offers a fresh take on a tumultuous period that will attract readers who enjoy Philip Kerr's atmospheric Bernie Gunther novels.-Wilda Williams, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.