Thursday, April 23, 2020

Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri


First Line: The world is a curving wall of gray cement.

When a woman is beheaded and her six-year-old son goes missing, it's a case that the police believe to be easily solved. It has to be the husband, so they lock him up and wait for him to confess. However, the chief of Rome's major crime unit has his doubts, and he coerces Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli (who's still on leave from an extremely traumatic experience) to take on an investigation separate from the police. Caselli is a warrior, and when she learns that her boss has assigned her Dante Torre as a partner, she initially wants no part of him.

Torre is a deeply wounded man who spent eleven years of his childhood locked inside a concrete silo. When he finally managed to escape, he emerged from his ordeal with crippling claustrophobia, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, hyper-observant abilities, and the reputation among those not-in-the-know of being a complete nutcase.

All the evidence suggests that the man who held Torre captive is back and active after a decades-long absence, but the more Caselli and Torre investigate, the trail of clues becomes more and more bizarre, and they realize that what's really going on is much darker than they ever imagined.

Weighing in at over five hundred pages, Kill the Father could have used some judicious trimming, but the two main characters are so mesmerizing and the story so convoluted and compelling that the book's length was something I had to admit was a minor quibble. If you're looking for a mystery filled with the food and wine and ambiance of Italy, look elsewhere. Kill the Father is tough and gritty and all about character and story. The mystery keeps readers off-balance with its twists and turns that are all based on a real-life event. Just as you think you know what's going on, you hit a speed bump, get tossed into the air, and find yourself landing and heading off in another direction. (Prepare yourself for several "speed bumps".) I love stories that can keep me guessing, and this one certainly does.

What raises this book up to a whole different level is its characterizations. Caselli and Torre are two very flawed people, but they are also very strong, very intelligent, and very determined. With the horror of his childhood, Torre often takes center stage and rightly so. As the investigation progresses, Torre has to confront his past and wonder if what he remembers is really what happened or if he has false memories. It's been a long time since I've been so impressed with two characters as I am with Caselli and Torre.

One warning for potential readers: If you really can't stomach any harm coming to children, you might want to skip several paragraphs from time to time or decide not to read the book at all. I will say that the scenes are not graphic and that they really serve to illuminate Torre's character.

The third book in the series, Kill the King, will be released in May. I already have the second, Kill the Angel and am fighting the urge to dive right in. When you find the right combination of story and character, it's magic, and in the case of Caselli and Torre, Sandrone Dazieri is the magician.


Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri
Translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar
eISBN: 9781501130731
Scribner © 2017
eBook, 513 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Caselli & Torre mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

15 comments:

  1. Hmm....I really do like character-drive stories, Cathy. And I respect an author who can keep the plot moving along at the right pace. But I'm not sure right now if I'm really for a very long book, especially one where harm comes to children, even if it's not graphic. I'll have to mull on that one. But I am glad you found it to be a really good read.

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    1. I was surprised at how quickly the story moved, Margot, but I agree-- this may not be the right book for many people at this particular time. I tend to be a contrary reader.

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  2. That is a bit of a chunk step for this genre but Torre sounds like an interesting character. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

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    1. Torre is a very interesting character. Caselli, too.

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  3. If it has you interested in the next book, I think I might like this one.

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    1. You might. I took a look at the second book, and it's also over 500 pages. Since I've just finished reading a couple of chunksters, I thought I'd wait awhile before picking it up again!

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  4. I've had this one for a while, but haven't read it yet. Your review makes me curious, though it is a long one. Perhaps before long. I like the sound of the characters.

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    1. The characters are what make this book. Totally grabbed my interest and wouldn't let go.

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  5. The characters sound fascinating, but I don't know that I want to read about the flashbacks and horror of the one who had been locked in a concrete silo. I'm inagining that and I don't think I want to read about that, even though the story sounds very interesting.
    I try to avoid books with terrible harm to children. And he probably has PTSD, as snyone would who survived that abuse.
    How much of the book is about the abuse?
    I read the Stieg Larsson trilogy and skipped much of the abuse of Lizbeth Salander and against other women.

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    1. Not that much concerns the abuse. Small scenes are used to illuminate the characters of Torre and the man known as the "Father." I think it would be relatively easy to skim over those sections.

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  6. OK. If the library was open, I"d get it. But I'm not buying books except by authors I've read before. And Sara Paretsky's and Margot Kinberg's books are on the way. Then I'll see where we are. Gov. Cuomo extended the date of house-break until May 15.

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    1. I think he's right to do so. Sure beats injecting disinfectant.

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  7. Absolutely! That was even shocking from the usually shocking guy in the White House. I see today that WH briefings with him may be cut back. But his ego will overwhelm everything, as he treats the briefings like campaign rallies.
    His ratings with seniors have dropped. Well, yeah, seniors are being hit hard by this virus, and no help from the WH.

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    1. How he can have any ratings at all boggles my feeble brain.

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  8. Yes, true. But his fans rally around. I mean I was shocked to see that 30 people called NYC Poison Control about possible bad affects from ingesting disinfectants. Maryland's emergency response agency got 100 calls. So that leaves many states where some people probably followed this guy's suggestions. I don't understand how some people can believe a politician over a doctor or scientist. But then again they deny climate change and are anti-science. I don't even want to know how many people believed him. I hope no one got seriously sick. He should resign over this as well as 100 other things.

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