Sandro Cellini, former policeman turned private
investigator, is tasked with finding a missing banker,
Claudio Josef Brunello who's disappeared from Florence. The
man's fiancée, pregnant and due any day now, knows Josef
Brunello would never leave her during this time. Sandro
doesn't share the naïve girl's faith in the man, especially
when he learns Brunello has a wife and two children
vacationing on the coast. When the body of Brunello is
found, Sandro must piece together the seemingly disparate
lives to find what really happened.
I thoroughly enjoyed THE DEAD SEASON: A Mystery in
Florence. There is so much to praise about the writing that
I can't decide where to start. Cristobel Kent's settings
are beautifully rendered, creating a richly detailed
atmosphere. The tense, muggy heat of August has to be my
least favorite weather and Kent captured not only the way
that heat feels against the skin but how it effects the
emotions and energy so that even in January, I could feel
that oppressive heat.
The history of the buildings and the city of Florence as it
has changed is worked throughout the novel, again building
this atmosphere of majestic history caught in the downward
spiral of modernization. This spiral reflects Sandro's
feelings about himself as he's aged and been forced from
the police force. Every detail is tied together, mirroring
the stages of birth to death, and all the subtle
transitions between.
But it was how character and plot worked together that made
THE DEAD SEASON a stellar story. The entire cast is
rounded, realistic characters. Their reactions to the
events of the disappearance and murder are all shown
through an entire lifetime of experiences. There is a depth
to the emotions that reflects Kent's knowledge of her
characters. They simply aren't characters needed because
the plot calls for it, but they're real characters acting
according to their experiences in a way that is real to
them. Their depth is stunning and their relationships with
each other is touching.
The investigation into Brunello's death is multilayered and
I really enjoyed seeing the steps from multiple viewpoints.
This allows the reader to put together the clues, sometimes
before the characters and sometimes not because this
doesn't show the whole picture.
Filled with richly imagine characters and a beautifully
rendered setting, THE DEAD SEASON by Christobel Kent is a
superb mystery that twists and turns through the winding
streets of Florence. Definitely put this on your list of
books to read this year.
Every August, Florence shimmers in the summer heat. But this
year the heatwave is fiercer than usual, and the city's
inhabitants have fled to the cool of the hills and beaches
of the surrounding countryside. So it is no surprise that
amidst the shrubbery of a normally busy roundabout, a corpse
lies unnoticed, bloating in the humid air.
Sandro Cellini will not be joining the crowds of
holidaymakers this year. The former policeman turned private
detective has a case: a man who seems to have vanished into
thin air - leaving his pregnant young wife alone in the
city. Meanwhile, bank teller Roxana Delfino is also stuck in
the city for the season, with nothing to do but worry for
her aging mother and puzzle over the disappearance of one
her regular clients.
As all Florence sweats it out, Cellini attempts as best he
can to grapple with his case and the complications it throws
up. And when the weather finally breaks, it brings with it a
shocking revelation . . .
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy