6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Florentine death a bit weak, Jan 11 2010
By BrookT "BrookT" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Florentine Death: Michele Ferrara: Book 1 (Paperback)
I picked up this book after reading his second in the series, Death in Tuscany.
It is obvious that M. Ferrara learned a lot between writing the first and second book. A Florentine Death is a bit weak on plot and character development, but it is very accurate as to siting and letting the reader in on the Italian mentality of how things work. This definitely is not on the same level as Donna Leone, but still enjoyable as light reading.
I have ordered his third book from Amazon UK (as they don't seem to carry it in the US) and his 4th is scheduled to come out soon. I think this is an enjoyable series to read especially if you cannot afford the price of an airline ticket to go back to Italy any time soon.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
NOT 'the leading italian crime writer', Jun 9 2009
By dh4books - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Florentine Death (Paperback)
I only picked this one up because The Times of London is quoted on the front cover as calling this author "THE LEADING ITALIAN CRIME WRITER" -- And I assumed I would be treated to something along the lines of Andrea Camilleri, Donna Leon, Ian Pears, Dibdin, Nabb. This was such a disappointment. Weak plotting, weak characterization, weak atmosphere. The author should be able to put together a believable procedural inasmuch as he was/is a senior officer in the Italian police force, but the things that the police do in this story just don't ring true. I'm also a little skeptical about the translation; unless there are twenty species of wolves in Italy someone made a mistake. & speaking of wolves: they generally don't attack people that are firing guns at them...
I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone so I'll vaguely say that political incorrectness is rampant here, coincidences / deus ex machina occur, and there's not even good food or nice scenery.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another great read from Giuttari, Oct 1 2011
By SuperShopper - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Florentine Death: Michele Ferrara: Book 1 (Paperback)
I've read three of Guittari's books, and as in the others, he has a twist in the book that you won't see coming (at least I didn't!). "The Death of a Mafia Don" was a little better than this one, but I definitely give him points for having a great imagination. This one also features a lot of police procedure, but wasn't as bogged down by it as some of his other books.