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Death in August
On sale
1st September 2011
Price: £9.99
Crime fiction packed with Italian flavour, Death in August is the first Inspector Bordelli mystery set in 1960s’ Florence – perfect for fans of Andrea Camilleri or Donna Leon.
Florence, summer 1963. Inspector Bordelli is one of the few policemen left in the deserted city. He spends his days on routine work, and his nights tormented by the heat and mosquitoes.
Suddenly one night, a telephone call gives him a new sense of purpose: the suspected death of a wealthy Signora. Bordelli rushes to her hilltop villa, and picks the locks. The old woman is lying on her bed – apparently killed by an asthma attack, though her medicine has been left untouched.
With the help of his young protégé, the victim’s eccentric brother, and a semi-retired petty thief, the inspector begins a murder investigation. Each suspect has a solid alibi, but there is something that doesn’t quite add up . . .
Florence, summer 1963. Inspector Bordelli is one of the few policemen left in the deserted city. He spends his days on routine work, and his nights tormented by the heat and mosquitoes.
Suddenly one night, a telephone call gives him a new sense of purpose: the suspected death of a wealthy Signora. Bordelli rushes to her hilltop villa, and picks the locks. The old woman is lying on her bed – apparently killed by an asthma attack, though her medicine has been left untouched.
With the help of his young protégé, the victim’s eccentric brother, and a semi-retired petty thief, the inspector begins a murder investigation. Each suspect has a solid alibi, but there is something that doesn’t quite add up . . .
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Reviews
'A real find for anyone who likes their crime novels atmospheric, discursive, humorous and thought-provoking.'
'[Italian] writers are justifiably growing in popularity here: Marco Vichi deserves to be among them . . . [Bordelli] is stubborn, womanless, cynical and impatient, but strangely appealing.'
'Over the course of his police procedurals, Vichi shows us ever more secret and dark sides to an otherwise sunny and open city. But his happiest creation, in my opinion, remains the character of Inspector Bordelli, a disillusioned anti-hero who is difficult to forget.'
'Three cheers for an absolute delight! . . . The strength of the novel is the in-depth portrayal of the characters, particularly Bordelli himself - eccentric, obstinate, generous and sad . . . The descriptions of the sounds and smells of the Tuscan summer are so vivid that you think they are real. The food is to die for. I can't wait to read the next one.'
[The Inspector Bordelli books] feature a fascinating cop and disillusioned anti-hero who rails against both injustice and the corrupt system but faces classic murder cases with a familiar Christie-like ring
'Vichi's stellar first in a new mystery series introduces endearingly melancholic Inspector Bordelli . . . [and] delivers a plausible solution worthy of a golden age crime novel. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this flawed hero.'
'This is a promising start to a series'
Fuses social commentary with fine cuisine and serves it up on a charming bed of criminality, and is a creditable advert for Italian crime fiction . . . definitely one to savour.
A classic mystery . . . an investigator, a tormented figure and an Italy which is less cynical but no less evil than today's.
