Book Review-Blood Curse By Maurizio De Giovanni

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.

Book Review-I Will Have Vengeance By Maurizio De Giovanni

One of my favorite things to do to relax is to read a good mystery. I'm particular about how I read my mysteries. I look for books that are usually not too gruesome and not two violent. I usually pick up mysteries from other countries and in another time because I’m looking for the back story which would allow me to experience the thrill of delving into a different culture or getting to know a different country. I already follow murder mystery series that are set in Scotland, England, Italy, Spain, France ETC. I do a lot of homework in selecting a series and I try to find a mystery series that has a long list of books that I can follow. I read them in chronological order, as the author wrote them. I came upon this book by Mauricio Giovanni in Carmichael books in Louisville Ky. It is part of the World Noir Series from Europa Editions. They became famous for publishing the Elena Ferrante series. Came up on two or three of the Commissario Ricciardi series in Carmichaels, and I became intrigued by the premise of the series as well as the very different set of circumstances. I picked up two or three of the first books and I jumped right in. This first one sets the tone I think for the rest of the series. We are introduced to Commissario Ricciardi, his sidekick Brigadier Maionne, and his doting Tata Rosa. As with all good literature, the author takes a long time to introduce us to the main characters. Characters that will be continuously accompany us on their adventures throughout series. De Giovanni does a very good job of introducing us to them and he does so at a very leisurely pace. He is not really in a hurry to get this important but somewhat tedious task done quickly. He lets us get a feel for the characters. Of course there is a very distinguishing characteristic of the main protagonist, a distinguishing characteristic that makes him of interest and makes us dig deeper into the character and the murder mystery. This particular characteristic for this series is especially unnerving. The ability that Commissario Ricciardi has is phantasmagorical which makes takes this story into unchartered realms, especially for me. I'm not going to give it away here, because it's a big part of the pleasure of reading the book. De Giovanni does an excellent job of setting up the mystery. He sets the scenes he built things up nicely and he leads the reader along on an unusual ride. It is hard going at first, the initial reading of the early part of the book is awkward and somewhat uncomfortable for the reader. I think that was intentional because it forces us to face our own discomfort with respect to what the plot line is about, but as the story goes on it becomes more interesting, it eventually sucks us in as the story moves towards the middle. The slow and excruciating setup is part of the charm of the book, it makes the reader pay attention to everything that the author presents and makes us consider all of the possibilities. The story centers around the death of a famous tenor in the opera house in Naples during the Italian fascist period, Il Duce is mentioned casually throughout the book. It was a particularly gruesome death and the suspects are many. The usual premise of a murder mystery. The difference is how Commissario Ricciardi solves the mystery. He is meticulous and rational in how he attacks the problems, but he also employs his “gift” to help him. All along his journey to solving the crime, he is beset by his superior’s inability as well as his own emotional upheavals hidden under his placid demeanor. The story is a study in contrast of reason and irrationality. The ending was satisfactory, but the enjoyment of the book lies in the chase that De Giovanni takes us on. I already started second book.