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.