Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation

Author - Magdalen Nabb ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Soho Crime was reviewed on 4-Oct-2008.

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1) Paperback Book Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation by Soho Crime. DEATH OF AN ENGLISHMAN (Trad. Mystery/Pol. Proc-Marshal Guarnaccia-Italy-Cont) - G+
Nabb, Magdalen - 1st in series
Charles Scribner´s Sons, 1981, US Hardcover - ISBN: 0684177579

First Sentence: The small office was in darkness, except where the red night lamp stood by the telephone on the desk, and the white kid gloves lying on top of a sheaf of papers within the patch of light were flushed pink.

Marshal Guiarnaccia is a Carabiniere stationed in Florence. He wants to get home for Christmas with his family in Sicily but is laid low with a bad case of the flu so it´s his young new police cadet, Carabiniere Bacci, faced with the investigation into the murder of a well-connected Englishman.

Inspectors from Scotland Yard appear on the scene and want to keep things quite. As he begins to recover, it is the subtle observations of Marshal that solve the case.

I was not familiar with this author, but it was recommended to me and I thought I´d give it a try. I´m so glad I did.

It´s the first of the series and a bit misleading since the actual protagonist spends most of the story being sick. I didn´t learn much about Marshal in this book, but when he did make an appearance, I became completely intrigued and wanted more.

I loved the Florentine setting. Nabb is a wonderfully visual writer. Unfortunately, now I´ve found another author whose backlist I need to seek out and read.
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2) Paperback Book Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation by Soho Crime. Having really enjoyed Camilleri´s Montalbano books, I was hopeful about this, especially after seeing such good reviews. I was greatly disappointed. The mystery itself was all right, although the red herrings were rather expected, but it was the feel of the story which was the greatest disappointment. Rather than having an Italian, much less Florentine, flavor permeate the story, I felt as if the author visited for local color and presented details without substance. Marshall Guarnaccia was barely in the story much of the time, and I got no feel for his personality or quirks. It was the English characters who had the most life, and that wasn´t what I was looking for.The Terra-Cotta Dog: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery¤

3) Paperback Book Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation by Soho Crime. I was going to read this book which looked nicely recomended but thanks to the kindly meant but unfortunately revealing review of Maiko Shimoi from Osaka, Japan I will not be reading this book.

Any one else who is planning to read the book please do not read Maiko´s review...¤

4) Paperback Book Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation by Soho Crime. The re-release of Magdalene Nabb´s Florentine stories is long overdue ( and shame on her UK publisher for dropping her ).

Congratulations are due to SoHo Press for their continuing ressucitation of some of the finest crime writers ( Van Der Wetterring , Tokagi and Janes etc )who all seem to have been dropped in favour of half-witted serial killer clones.

These are some of the finest crime stories ever written and their evocation of Florence is flawless.Marshal Guarnaccia is one of the most engaging protagonists since Maigret and the stories have a similar emphasis on the observation of character and cause rather than Chritie-esque puzzles.In many ways the mystery seems secondary to Ms. Nabb´s exceptional ability to draw the reader into the lives of her characters and the bustle of Florentine daily life.

Buy three copies, one to read and re-read to destruction , one to keep for the time when your first falls to bits and one to give to your best friend.

Brava Signora !¤

5) Paperback Book Death of an Englishman: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation by Soho Crime. The debut of Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri, a Sicilian, stationed in Florence.

It is just before Christmas and the marshal wants to go South to spend the holiday with his wife and family, but first he must recover from the flu (which has left the Florentine caribinieri short-handed) and also solve a murder. A seemingly respectable retired Englishman, living in a flat on the Via Maggio near the Santa Trinita bridge, was shot in the back during the night. He was well-connected and Scotland Yard has despatched two officers to "assist" the Italians in solving the crime. But it is the marshal, a quiet observer, not an intellectual, who manages to figure out what happened, and why.

In addition to the wonderful atmosphere of Florence, Magdalen Nabb has created a delightful investigator who has been described as "the most Maigret-like of contemporary policemen" by the Times Literary Supplement.
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Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 1-Nov-2008, 15694725489781569472545, 030-481-631-711-5X1-261-8

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