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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this philosophical, quirky legal thriller set in Bari, Italy, attorney Guido Guerrieri (last seen in A Walk in the Dark) is in the throes of midlife malaise when he gets an unexpected and seemingly impossible case. Fabio Paolicelli asks Guerrieri to represent him in his appeal on a drug smuggling conviction that led to a 16-year prison sentence. Despite his confession, which Paolicelli says he made to spare his lovely half-Japanese wife, Natsu Kawabata, from being convicted along with him, he's convinced he was set up—and that his first lawyer, Corrado Macrì, was part of the conspiracy. Guerrieri is reluctant to take the case, but he does so for a host of mostly bad reasons, not the least of which is Kawabata's beauty. The mystery plot intrigues, but Guerrieri truly commands the reader's attention with his unflinching awareness of his own failings and his thoughtful musings on life and the law. (Oct.)
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.
Book Description
“Carofiglio writes crisp, ironical novels that are as much love stories and philosophical treatises as they are legal thrillers.”—The New Yorker
“Guerrieri could have just gotten off an Alitalia flight from the land of Grisham or the Los Angeles of Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer. Sharp writing will keep readers turning the pages.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for the Guerrieri series:
“Involuntary Witness is a stunner.”—The Times
“Every character in Carofiglio’s fiction has a story to tell and they are always worth hearing. As the author himself is an anti-mafia prosecutor, this powerfully affecting series benefits from veracity as well as tight writing.”—Daily Mail
“Raises the standard for crime fiction. Carofiglio's deft touch has given us a story that is both literary and gritty—it speeds along like the best legal thrillers.”—Jeffery Deaver
Lawyer Guerrieri is asked to handle the appeal of Fabio Paolicelli, sentenced to sixteen years for smuggling drugs into Italy. Everything seems stacked against the accused, not least because he initially confessed to the crime. His past as a neo-fascist thug also adds credence to the case against him. Only the intervention of Paolicelli’s beautiful half-Japanese wife finally overcomes Guerrieri’s reluctance. Matters get more complicated when Guerrieri ends up in bed with her.
Gianrico Carofiglio, born in 1961, is a judge and anti-Mafia prosecutor in the southern Italian city of Bari. Bitter Lemon Press introduced him to English-speaking readers with his best-selling debut novel, Involuntary Witness.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Likeable lawyer
Mar 31 2008
Format:Paperback
A good mystery, the main character being a self-deprecating lawyer :-) who loves books and wants to be a writer. I like the book store for insomniacs that is open all night. With cakes. Perfect.
The plot is fine, the characters likable. A good book.
The plot is fine, the characters likable. A good book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Straightforward Enjoyable Italian Legal Thriller
Nov 19 2007
Format:Paperback
This Italian bestseller is the third in Carofiglio's series of crime/legal thrillers featuring lawyer Guido Guerrieri. The simple story is set in the somewhat grim eastern port of Bari (yes, I've been there and don't care to return), where the 40ish private attorney plies his trade while fending off a midlife crisis. One day, not long after being dumped by his girlfriend, he is retained by a convicted drug smuggler to represent him in his appeal case. Coming back from a vacation in Montenegro, the man's car was searched, and 40 kilos of cocaine was found, leading to a sixteen year sentence. However, he claims to have confessed only in order to keep his half-Japanese wife out of jail, and disavows any prior knowledge of the drugs.
The story then unfolds relatively straightforwardly, as Guerrieri examines the details of the original case and does a little digging with the unofficial help of a few old acquaintances. As in many European crime novels, the hero/protagonist is somewhat of a loner, and spends a good portion of the book drifting around the streets of the city (by bike!) ruminating on his empty life, eating, and drinking. Adding to Guerrieri's woes is his self-loathing when he falls all too easily into bed with his client's exotically beautiful wife. A further complication is the lawyer's secret past with his client -- as a teen, the client was a fascist thug who was part of a gang who assaulted Guerrieri, an event the client doesn't appear to recall. These latter two elements don't add a great deal to the story, especially the teenage connection, which leads nowhere and ultimately serves little purpose. Yet despite the relatively unoriginal plotline, there's a certain tone to the story that makes it quite compelling. Definitely not a great book, but good enough to make me want to go back and read Guerrieri's earlier cases (Involuntary Witness, A Walk in the Dark).
The story then unfolds relatively straightforwardly, as Guerrieri examines the details of the original case and does a little digging with the unofficial help of a few old acquaintances. As in many European crime novels, the hero/protagonist is somewhat of a loner, and spends a good portion of the book drifting around the streets of the city (by bike!) ruminating on his empty life, eating, and drinking. Adding to Guerrieri's woes is his self-loathing when he falls all too easily into bed with his client's exotically beautiful wife. A further complication is the lawyer's secret past with his client -- as a teen, the client was a fascist thug who was part of a gang who assaulted Guerrieri, an event the client doesn't appear to recall. These latter two elements don't add a great deal to the story, especially the teenage connection, which leads nowhere and ultimately serves little purpose. Yet despite the relatively unoriginal plotline, there's a certain tone to the story that makes it quite compelling. Definitely not a great book, but good enough to make me want to go back and read Guerrieri's earlier cases (Involuntary Witness, A Walk in the Dark).
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Strong Italian legal thriller
Oct 4 2007
Format:Paperback
In Bari, Italy, convicted drug smuggler Fabio Paolicelli asks Guido Guerrieri to represent him on his appeal of a sixteen year sentencing. Guido looks at the trial in which Fabio's confession makes his guilt obvious. However, Fabio insists he was set up and that he admitted doing the crime to insure his wife Natsu Kawabata would not be on trial too. He also insists his lawyer Corrado Macrì worked for the opposition and not providing him with a good defense.
Guerrieri hesitates as he feels the appeal will fail because Fabio confessed, the man's past as a Fascist punk offers no redeeming quality to build from, and there is no lucid motive to forge a conspiracy to lock him away. However, upon meeting the exotic half-Japanese Natsu, Guido agrees to represent Fabio. As he constructs the defense, Guido cannot resist Natsu's lure even though he knows this is a morally wrong conflict of interest; they make love. If Fabio ever finds out and is freed from prison it could prove dangerous to his lawyer, who begins to wonder if he should throw the case too.
The legal thriller aspects are fascinating and cleverly devised, but that takes a back seat to the deep look at the ethics of the middle age attorney Guido. Readers will appreciate his realizations and rationalizations as he ponders between the best and worst defenses. Few sub-genre tales contain a better protagonist as he makes the tale worth reading with his fresh somewhat cynical spin (see INVOLUNTARY WITNESS).
Harriet Klausner
Guerrieri hesitates as he feels the appeal will fail because Fabio confessed, the man's past as a Fascist punk offers no redeeming quality to build from, and there is no lucid motive to forge a conspiracy to lock him away. However, upon meeting the exotic half-Japanese Natsu, Guido agrees to represent Fabio. As he constructs the defense, Guido cannot resist Natsu's lure even though he knows this is a morally wrong conflict of interest; they make love. If Fabio ever finds out and is freed from prison it could prove dangerous to his lawyer, who begins to wonder if he should throw the case too.
The legal thriller aspects are fascinating and cleverly devised, but that takes a back seat to the deep look at the ethics of the middle age attorney Guido. Readers will appreciate his realizations and rationalizations as he ponders between the best and worst defenses. Few sub-genre tales contain a better protagonist as he makes the tale worth reading with his fresh somewhat cynical spin (see INVOLUNTARY WITNESS).
Harriet Klausner
Routine legal thriller
Feb 11 2012
Format:Paperback
Counsel for the defence Guerrieri is asked handle the appeal of Fabio Paolicelli, who has been found guilty of drug trafficking. He does not want to take on the job at first, as Paolicelli once beat him up as a kid and has a neofascict past. When he meets Paolicelli's beautiful half-Japanse wife, he decides to go ahead with it. It takes some "detectiving" to find out what happened and there's some good court-room finishing scenes. He sleeps with the defendant's wife a few times which seems kind of lazy by the author, given his ability to develop a good plot and interesting characters, demonstrated by "A Walk in the Dark".
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