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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A bestseller and winner of multiple awards in Italy, Carofiglio's debut should please fans of American-style courtroom thrillers. A murder case presents Guido Guerrieri, the archetypal burned-out defense lawyer, with a chance at redemption. A Senegalese peddler, Abdou Thiam, is arrested for killing a nine-year-old boy, whose body was found at the bottom of a well near a coastal resort in southern Italy. Even though the police have only circumstantial evidence against Thiam, he's advised to take a plea bargain that would allow him to get off with only 20 years in prison. Guerrieri becomes convinced that his new client is the victim of racism and is being used as a scapegoat. Defying conventional wisdom and putting his own career on the line as well as Thiam's fate, Guerrieri takes the case to trial. The result is a powerful indictment of the Italian justice system. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A story that is both literary and gritty that speeds along like the best legal thrillers." Jeffery Deaver "Involuntary Witness is a stunner. The veracity of the setting and the humanity of the lawyer that makes the novel a courtroom drama of such rare quality." Times "A new voice, and one with which I am sure we will soon become familiar.Involuntary Witness, has been a best seller in Italy and won many prizes. A powerful redemptive novel beautifully translated." Daily Mail
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very good book, Dec 12 2005
By Cap'n Co - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Involuntary Witness (Paperback)
The author is a working criminal lawyer (an investigating magistrate, sort of like a cross between a DA and a judge, if I understand correctly).In any event, it's clear that he knows of what he speaks in this marvellous Italian trial procedural. Carofiglio has an acid wit, and the book is very amusing.
I found the character development and the romance less interesting, as it was not captured as well as the criminal case. But that's not why one reads this sort of book, anyway.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Procedural, Less Romance, Sep 2 2010
By K. L. Cotugno - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Involuntary Witness (Paperback)
Having caught up on the Montalbano series, I searched for another Italian based procedural series and discovered Carofiglio, an anti-Mafia prosecutor from Bari. This locale is important to the story of his debut novel as it is a seaside resort located on the back heel of Italy's boot. It is a worthy debut, but Caroliglio would benefit from adopting Camilleri's style a bit, employing less of his central character's private life and focusing more closely on the situation at hand. I found myself skimming through the tribulations of Guido's love life to get to the meat of the trial and the mystery surrounding the death of a young boy, the crime for which his Senegalese client is charged. That his client is innocent is evident from the start, his reasons for incarceration disturbing and sad. I was surprised to discover the breadth of racial blindness and prejudice present in Italy plus the workings of their court system. Because those parts of the book were so compelling, I'll continue with the series, hoping that Guido's personal life takes more of a back seat to the legal proceedings.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating look at the Italian legal system, April 15 2008
By Carole Barkley - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Involuntary Witness (Paperback)
At first, I was amazed at the idea that a person can be charged with murder without any real evidence. As far as I could tell, the only evidence was:* Thiam haad met the boy on the beach, where he worked
* Thiam had a Polaroid photo of himself with the boy (taken on the beach by the boy's grandfather)
* Thiam (a former teacher) had some children's books on his shelves
* A witness who believed "all niggers look alike" said he had seen Thiam in the area the day of the boy's disappearance
The police didn't even bother to keep accurate transcripts of witness interviews!
Then I remembered that in the not-so-distant past, an American court might have very well prosecuted a black man on equally flimsy evidence.
The descriptions of the lawyer's strategy are fascinating. The politics of the situation are a minefield and Guerrieri has to tiptoe through it --which he does with great skill.
An interesting point is that the author never tells us who did kill the boy. The emphasis is entirely on the trial. The author does, however, write very well, with wit and intelligence. The English translation gives a sense of the rhythm of the Italian language.
Another interesting cultural note is that everyone in Italy seems to smoke incessantly.
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