I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio de Giovanni

First Line: The dead child was standing motionless at the intersection between Santa Teresa and the museum.

Some would say Commissario Ricciardi's ability is a gift. Others would say it's a curse. He can see the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths, and this ability has made him one of the most successful homicide detectives in the Naples of Mussolini's Italy. But success comes at a high price. He drinks too much, he sleeps too little, and-- other than his loyal partner Brigadier Maione, he has no friends.

When a world-famous tenor, Maestro Amaldo Vezzi, is found murdered in his dressing room at Naples' San Carlo Theatre, Ricciardi is called in to investigate. Vezzi was a particular favorite of Il Duce himself, so Ricciardi's superiors are in a certified flap.

Ricciardi is a man who has let his rather gruesome ability separate him from the rest of the world. He's rich. He lives alone, or almost alone-- his old nanny lives in and takes care of him. His only moments of pleasure seem to be when he sits in his darkened room and watches a young woman sitting by her window embroidering in the lamplight.

There didn't seem to be much historical flavor to I Will Have Vengeance other than mentioning Mussolini once in a while, but it was interesting to see how Ricciardi solved the crime. Yes, he does see the final seconds of Vezzi the tenor's life, so he does know who killed him, but that's not going to stand up in a court of law. He has to very carefully backtrack and interview countless people before he can declare the crime solved.

The mystery is an excellent one that I did enjoy following, but the characters all left me cold. Perhaps this reaction is due to the translation? I'm not sure. But one thing that I am sure of is that I doubt I'll be reading further in the series.

I Will Have Vengeance by  Maurizio de Giovanni

Translated from the Italian by  Anne Milano Appel

eISBN: 9781609451059

Europa Editions © 2018

eBook, 212 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Commissario Ricciardi mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

A Few Drops of Blood by Jan Merete Weiss

First Line: The moon was a ghost when the call came in.

The bodies of two murdered men are found astride a statue in the garden of an elderly countess. The shocking and gruesome scene is not what most people have in mind when they breakfast out on the terrace. At the request of the countess, Captain Natalia Monte of the Naples Carabinieri is assigned to the case. It's a case that will have Natalia investigating art galleries and local crime families, but more importantly, it will have her questioning her own past and allegiances as well as those of her beloved city.

When I read the first book in this series, These Dark Things, I had mixed emotions. I absolutely loved the setting, but felt that there were problems with the plot and the characters. I'm very happy to say that A Few Drops of Blood have put most of those problems to rest.

As in the first book, the setting is superb. Since Natalia lives close to the police station, she often walks to work, to cafes, and to the shops. As she walks, her policeman's eyes are never at rest, but as she's observing, she's also mentally listing all the many reasons why she loves the city of her birth. Her musings are making me fall in love with the city as well.

The main characters are more fleshed out in this book. There have been consequences to Natalia and Pino's relationship that began in the first book, and we get to see how they are dealing with them here. The most fascinating part of Natalia's background, however, is her relationship to several females who have positions of importance within the local Camorra (crime families). These women have been close friends since they were small children going to school together. Natalia knows that her job requires her to forsake her friends, but she refuses. This insistence gives her both an edge in solving some of the cases she's assigned and a disadvantage because someone's constantly trying to force her to take a side. I admire her for her refusal to abandon her friends, and I also enjoy watching her walk a tightrope as she investigates anything that touches the Camorra.

The only thing that bothered me as I read was the fact that the plot seemed to wander from time to time. Although I was enjoying the scenic route as I turned the pages, I kept wondering when Natalia was going to settle down and actually investigate the murder of the two men. Never fear, Natalia does put all the facts and clues together-- and she reveals some very nasty thorns hidden amongst the petals that make up the beautiful city of Naples. This series is turning into something very special, and I look forward to the next installment.

A Few Drops of Blood by Jan Merete Weiss

ISBN: 9781616953539

Soho Crime © 2014

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Captain Natalia Monte mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the publisher

These Dark Things by Jan Merete Weiss

Title: These Dark Things, Introducing the Captain Natalia Monte Series Set in Naples
Author: Jan Merete Weiss
ISBN: 9781569479384
Publisher: Soho Crime, 2011
Hardcover, 217 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #1 Captain Natalia Monte mystery
Rating: C+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: A large cypress tree arched over the graves, and a few clouds the color of peaches.

Captain Natalia Monte of the Italian Carabinieri may get to wear uniforms designed by Armani, but she's faced the same tough climb up the law enforcement ladder that all women have had to face. Monte works in the city in which she grew up-- Naples-- and Mt. Vesuvius with its varying colors of smoke plumes looms in the distance watching over all.

A beautiful young German college student has been murdered, her body carefully placed in the crypt beneath an ancient church. Monte has been assigned to investigate, but not only are there many suspects, she also finds her way hampered by the garbage strike that has deadlocked her beloved city with towering piles of stinking, rotting refuse.

The setting of this book is absolutely superb. I have seldom read a fiction book and come away having learned so much about a city. Weiss wove a Neapolitan spell around me using threads of beauty as well as ugliness when Monte's investigation takes her to the violent underbelly of the metropolitan area.

What didn't work so well for me were the plot and the characters. There were many plot threads, but the ending felt rushed and too neat for a place such as Naples. Monte's partner, Pino, was a more developed character than Monte, but they all felt "at a remove". The relationship between Monte and Pino took off too quickly, and I felt that it would have worked better if it had taken place over the span of a few books rather than all in the first. Just enough of Monte's backstory is given to make her interesting, and I'm hoping that more information will be forthcoming in future books. From the ending (which doesn't show her in the most flattering of lights), it appears that Monte will be a multi-faceted character who will grow and change.

Since I was absolutely riveted by the setting and culture of These Dark Things, I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I have high hopes that plotting and characterization will improve and match the city of Naples as a setting.

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