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A Death In Tuscany
Personal clashes with professional for Michele Ferrara in the second book in the series ofcompelling and authentic Italian police proceduralsIn the picturesque Tuscan hill town of Scandicci, the body of a girl is discovered, scantily dressed and lying by the edge of the woods. After a week the local police investigating the case haven't even identified her, let alone gotte...more
Paperback, 381 pages
Published
2008
(first published 2005)
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Wow! I loved this book! The author, Michele Giuttari, is the Italian Michael Connelly. He is the former head of the police force in Florence Italy.
His main character, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara, the head of Florence's elite Squadra Mobile, is refreshing because he is happily married. We are spared reading about every woman he encounters while doing his job throwing herself at him. His wife is supportive, but it is not a Nick and Nora Charles type plot. She keeps the home fires burning...more
His main character, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara, the head of Florence's elite Squadra Mobile, is refreshing because he is happily married. We are spared reading about every woman he encounters while doing his job throwing herself at him. His wife is supportive, but it is not a Nick and Nora Charles type plot. She keeps the home fires burning...more
A Death in Tuscany is a competent police procedural set in Florence and its surrounds. It’s author used to be head of the Florence police and he knows his procedural details, giving a good insight into how the Italian system works with its divisions between state police, carabinieri and prosecutor’s office. Ferrara is a political astute cop, dedicated to the job, with a healthy disregard for his superiors and liked by his colleagues, and a happy home life. The story is well paced and the charact...more
Whilst the title for this book is not very imaginative, it is the reason I was drawn to pick this up for the Italy in Books - Reading Challenge 2011. This is not a genre I read a great deal of and the author is not familiar to me so I do not feel I can compare him with others that write books set in Italy in this genre of which there are quite a few.
Michele Giuattari is a former Florence Police Chief so he does have an insiders advantage on the understanding of how the police and legal system wo...more
Michele Giuattari is a former Florence Police Chief so he does have an insiders advantage on the understanding of how the police and legal system wo...more
A better level of realism comes through with the character of Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara compared to Leon's Commissario Brunetti and Dibdin's detective Aurelio Zen. The references to Freemasonry and the Albanian Eastern Mafioso were cleverly intertwined throughout the plot to keep you intrigued as Operation Stella unfolded. With the Italian towns of Carrara, Massa and Montecatini in the background, mixed in with character names such as Ciuffi, Serpico, Rizzo, Chief Superintendent Mazzo...more
Giuttari used to be the head of the police force in Florence so he is obviously well qualified to write these kinds of stories. Unfortunately it wasn’t really my kind of crime novel, I prefer a proper whodunit like Agatha Christie or PD James, this is more drug, child porn, Mafiosi type (which ironically his author photo makes him look like). I did try to read this or another of his before and failed to get much further than the first couple of chapters, I kept going with this one but would not...more
Giuttari's second Italian police procedural outranks the first, as his tight plotting and enjoyable lead, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara, take center stage again. While there's still an element of intrigue - this time, Freemasonry - it appears less of an interruption to the plot and more an addition. Once more Giuttari's real-life experience as the head of Florence's Squadra Mobile helps him create a believable and thrilling plot as Ferrarra solves the murder of a young girl - who everyone...more
I grabbed this off of the library shelf at Cap Juluca (don't tell them...I was a Sheriva guest)...grabbed it because it had Tuscany in the title. Ended up being a very good murder mystery...if you're into that...loved that in the Italian murder mysteries, they describe the food & wine they're enjoying as much as the gory details of the murders. It would be a solid 3 1/2 stars, if that were an option, but I feel like it isn't quite in my 4 star category. I would absolutely say grab this for a...more
This is the second book in the series. The author is writing a novel based on his experiences as the chief of the Florence 'Flying Squad'. The character even has the same first name as he does. When he's telling the story it's a good read. There are little bits here and there that seem too much about him though and they irritated me a little. As the story gets going these tail off.
The story begins with the death of a young unidentified girl. Never a nice place to begin. It has plenty of twists a...more
The story begins with the death of a young unidentified girl. Never a nice place to begin. It has plenty of twists a...more
One of Suzanne's large pile. Great page turner with lots of plot twists. Scarily (and sometimes depressingly) realistic - the last crime novel I read was glamourous crimes de passion and red herrings I think - but I guess drugs and sex is more 21st century!
The dialogue sometimes felt very unnatural, but like we've discussed several times, it's hard to tell if that's a translation problem or in the original. Would probably read another one of his if I was in the mood for crime (so to speak!) but...more
The dialogue sometimes felt very unnatural, but like we've discussed several times, it's hard to tell if that's a translation problem or in the original. Would probably read another one of his if I was in the mood for crime (so to speak!) but...more
A DEATH IN TUSCANY is the second book from former Florence police chief Michele Guittari, billed as a bestseller in Italy and translated into nine languages. I was particularly interested to read this as the first book A FLORENTINE DEATH had a number of elements which didn't work at all for me, and I wanted to see if this was first book syndrome or more to do with this particular author's style of storytelling.
A DEATH IN TUSCANY starts out with the discovery of the body of a girl near a small Tu...more
A DEATH IN TUSCANY starts out with the discovery of the body of a girl near a small Tu...more
A great story. Incredible description that threw me off my guard. I love a book that can make me feel just as uncomfortable as it would make the character if they were real.
Not my favourite, but I would read it again. The realism that comes with Mr. Giuttari's experience in Italian Police and Crime is second to none.
I am growing more fond of Mr. Giuttari's writing and cannot wait to read more.
Not my favourite, but I would read it again. The realism that comes with Mr. Giuttari's experience in Italian Police and Crime is second to none.
I am growing more fond of Mr. Giuttari's writing and cannot wait to read more.
Very good book, loved the story. The only issue I have with this book(still keeping in mind that this is a translation from Italian) is that some of the English spelling in some cases is not correct. However, this did not scare me away from this book. It was a wonderful story with twists and turns that some times I did not even see coming. This book is a must read for anyone who loves crime novels!
'A Death in Tuscany' is certainly an improvement on the previous novel – 'A Florentine Death'. A much more interesting and exciting story. I struggled with the Italian character names and locations, which made it hard for me to picture the people and events in my minds eye, but the author can hardly be blamed for that. I'm still pondering whether to give the next one a go.
I like this one better than his first book. It had a faster pace and more interesting situations and character development. Michele Ferrara seemed more human and less perfect this time and thus more interesting. There was more of his personal involvement along with his wife which I liked. Right to the end I wasn't sure how it was going to finish.
A young girl is found dead, an apparent suicide. Michele Ferrara, the top cop in Florence (who bears a resemblance to the author, also called Michele, also a cigar-smoker and the former top cop in Florence) suspects murder. Atmospheric and heaped with the kind of conspiracies you would expect to find in Italy. Good holiday read.
A definite improvement after A Florentine Death, but still like a 3.3-star novel.
I have posted my thoughts on this novel and the two that follow (Death of a Mafia Don and A Death in Calabria) in one combined review here .
I have posted my thoughts on this novel and the two that follow (Death of a Mafia Don and A Death in Calabria) in one combined review here .
A very good read. Michele Ferrara, head of the Squadra Mobile in Florence, investigates the death of a young woman, leading to crimes at the highest level of Florentine society. Another very engaging character on the European crime novel scene!
Selected to read while biking through Tuscany. I read some good reviews. It's a better than average murder or crime thriller, with some good characters and a great setting. But it isn't Camilleri unfortunately. I still enjoyed it! 3.7 stars for me.
Good murder mystery, lots of intrigue, fabulous setting description, emotionally engaging BUT totally disappointing conclusion. I loved this right up until the last page.
I'm still very interested in the rest of the books in this series though!
I'm still very interested in the rest of the books in this series though!
Aug 04, 2011
Linda Karlsen
added it
Enjoyed reading this book although I found the first couple of chapters a little boring. But it got better and then the pages turned pretty fast. Perfect for a rainy and lazy weekend.
I enjoyed the plot of this book and how all the pieces of the mystery fit together. I would've enjoyed it more if it was more descriptive and the characters better drawn. Average writing, I guess.
Fast-paced novel following the exploits of Florence police chief Michele Ferrara. Complex plots involving paedophiles, drug dealers and mafia dons tie well together for an enjoyable read.
I enjoyed this second novel - another Italian outing...the subject matter was quite disturbing but the tenacity the police display in solving the case was heartening
I ordered it because of the title, naturally, but enjoyed it more than just for the scenery and familiar place references. Will look out for others in this series.
An enjoyable read - well paced with enough twists and substance in the story to keep you hooked on till the end. The Italian angle was an added touch ... !
Kept me involved all the way through so an enjoyable distraction from real life, basically what you want from a detective novel (or what I want at least!).
Translated from Italian, this book was suspenseful with a good plot. It was especially fun to read after being in Florence since it was set in that city.
This book was ok. It had twists and turns but I think I have missed some vital information regarding the characters as I have found out this is the 2nd book in the series.
Wambaugh meets Leon. The story line flowed, which is important to me. I will look for more books by Michele Giuttari (a real policeman).
I enjoyed this so much. Haven't read anything by Giuttari previously, but will look out for more of his books.
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04. August, 16:52 Uhr