This book is the second in the series by Maurizio de Giovanni
starring the protagonist Commissario Luigi Ricciardi.
The first book was a somewhat awkward and abrupt
introduction to the series. Commissario Ricciardi is a unique character in the mystery
novel realm because he sees dead people. No joke, he actually sees ghosts in
the moments right after they die, so he
is uniquely positioned to solve murders. The fact that he Possesses this gift is
both a blessing and a curse. The gift has guided his growth and maturation as person
and marked his personality. He is taciturn, somewhat reclusive, and he is not
very friendly. His only friends in this world are his housekeeper and nanny Tata
Rosa, and his subordinate Brigadir Maione, his trusty sidekick. Ricciardi has been
able to survive in the Naples police force during the fascists era mainly
because he is very good at solving murders, because he was terrible at politics
and being obsequious to the powerful people.
De Giovanni set the story in the Spring for a reason. He
uses the season to setup the story as well as using the springtime to bring our
minds to the smells, feel, and sights of Naples by following his description of
the city. De Giovanni also uses the springtime to set the scene for the case. The
unity of the season with the story plays a subtle but important role in the
narrative. The sense of renewal and new beginnings are hinted at during the
description of the investigation.
The murder takes place in a poor part of town and the victim
was a fortune teller. De Giovanni’s descriptions of the hovel that the victim
lived in, as well as the opulence of the other places in the book is engrossing
and serves to contrast the disparity in the lives of all the characters. De
Giovanni is a fantastically good writer but as impressive is the work done by
the translator of the book Anthony Shugar because he was able to translate de Giovanni’s
words in Italian into English so that the readers can truly engage in the
fluidity of the storytelling. I cannot praise the work of this team enough.
The beginning of the story, as with all beginnings of all
mystery stories, is awkward, the writer is subtly introducing the characters, the
important elements of the story, and give us, the readers, an inkling of where
the story is taking place and more importantly give us the correct context under
which the story is taking place: how the city, the weather and the season are
relevant to the story.
De Giovanni also introduced a few parallel stories in
conjunction with the main murder. As all good mystery writers, he is able to juggle
the important side stories so that he introduces them at the appropriate points
in the narrative. It gives us a diversion so that we don't tire of the murder
story itself and also to engage our curiosity about these characters, it makes
us care about them.
This book was much better than the first book. Maybe it's
because De Giovanni became more comfortable with Ricciardi and the complete cast
of characters, or it may be that he's found the groove of the story itself. The
book read much more smoothly and was much more engrossing to my mind after the
initial introduction. At about the three-quarter point of the book, it became incredibly
riveting and the writing got amazingly better, more clear, and much more seductive.
I could not put the book down as the author drove the narrative towards the
resolving of all the stories. Obviously not all of the resolutions were satisfactory
because it involves the murder, but the finish of the story was as satisfying
as can be. Indeed, the denouement of the book was just amazing reading.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Yes I am reading the
third book in the series. I have resolved to read the entire Commissario
Ricciardi series. I may even consider reading the other series that de Giovanni
has written because I am so enamored with his tone, the way he handles the
facts, and most of all his writing.
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