1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid read from Guittari, Oct 1 2011
By SuperShopper - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Death in Tuscany: Michele Ferrara: Book 2 (Paperback)
Parts of this book were excellent, others were just okay. Guittari works some interesting ideas into the plot, and gives us another solid read; however, I think some of his other books are stronger than this one. I'd recommend "The Death of a Mafia Don" over this one, but I'd recommend reading this one first since some of the plot elements in this book tie into that one. (But it's not necessary to read them in order, or even to read this one at all to enjoy the other one.)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An average read then for those of us interested in Italy and or the crime novel, Aug 22 2011
By LindyLouMac - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Death in Tuscany: Michele Ferrara: Book 2 (Paperback)
Whilst the title for this book is not very imaginative, it is the reason I was drawn to pick this up for the Italy in Books - Reading Challenge 2011. This is not a genre I read a great deal of and the author is not familiar to me so I do not feel I can compare him with others that write books set in Italy in this genre of which there are quite a few.
Michele Giuattari is a former Florence Police Chief so he does have an insiders advantage on the understanding of how the police and legal system work within Italy. This I think is certainly the sort of case that is sadly based on current issues in the real world, so fiction that has fact behind it.
The story is about the investigation into the death of a young girl hardly more than a child, whom it is assumed died of a drug overdose. The case is taken on by Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara and he quickly realises that this is far more than a simple overdose death. He believes that the girl was murdered and as he investigates becomes convinced it is part of a much wider conspiracy. It even turns out that there is a sinister connection between this case and the disappearance of a close friend of his!
The speech appears stilted at times but I think this is just because English is not the original language. There are many characters and I did not find any of them particularly memorable, but the plot line was strong enough to hold my attention in what was a quick light read. What was of interest is the setting of Florence and the surrounding countryside, appealing if you know the area and maybe tempting you to visit if you do not. An average read then for those of us interested in Italy and or the crime novel. I doubt if I would have picked this up if it were not for the Italy in Books - Reading Challenge 2011 though.
4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good police/inspector mystery story, Feb 10 2010
By W. Utter - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Death in Tuscany: Michele Ferrara: Book 2 (Paperback)
This was my first read of this writer and I rather enjoyed it. He kept the action moving and my interest along the way. I would certainly read his other works.