Thursday, December 21, 2017

Death of an Englishman


Death of an Englishmen is a 1981 mystery, the debut novel and first in a series by Magdalen Nabb. I enjoyed this, finding an interesting look at the characters of police officers and citizens and expats in Florence. The dialogue was great at illustrating the people. I'll definitely look for more of these.

from the back of the book:
Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Florentine Carabinieri wants to go south for Christmas to spend the holiday with his family in Sicily, but a retired Englishman living in Florence has been murdered. Who has shot Mr. Langley-Smythe in the back? The marshal must discover the identity of the criminal and the motive for the crime before he can take the train home for the holidays.
favorite quotes:
Dotty old dear, they'd have said -and don't tell me you wouldn't have said the same, you needn't blush, I've seen you giving my shoes funny looks but when you get to my age it's either be comfortable and keep going or be dignified and sit in a chair all day and I know which suits me.
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So many people lived on a knife edge, just managing to keep going,, just managing to "keep straight," but if anything went wrong, a missed train, a week without wages, for them it was a tragedy because they had no resources except their families who were as poor as themselves.
*******

Kirkus Reviews says the plot isn't this book's strong point but says,
there are genial glimpses of English expatriate life in Florence here (a dotty vicar, a pathetic library); the Italian/British interplay -especially the chumship between the two younger cops- is quietly witty; and the non-tourist side of the city is nicely captured, from Christmas-tree sellers to come-as-you-are restaurants.


10 comments:

  1. This sounds like an interesting read. I will look for this at my library, because it sounds like you really enjoyed it.

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    1. There are a lot of them in this series, so if they don't have this one maybe they'll have others.

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  2. Sounds good! :)

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    1. I haven't looked for more yet, but it's definitely good enough to motivate me :)

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  3. The quotes that you chose made me smile, it looks like such a great read 😁. Thanks for the recommendation and sending you best wishes for the Holiday Season! J 😊

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    1. The dialogue is great fun and so revealing of the characters :) I'm enjoying this season and hope yours is joyful, too.

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  4. i've heard of Magdalen McNabb from something else. But now that I look her up I can't seem to find the name, except for various funeral arrangements. So let me try the novel name, and now I know why I know the name-it's from the kid's book Josie Smith. I love mysteries as you know, and this one, in fact the series, look good. Thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. I had never heard of her before but just picked it up -or maybe it fell off the shelf into my hand ;) I love wandering the aisles in book stores.

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  5. Oh boy, a series I haven't read. Thanks as always for the review. I hope you and your family have a lovely holiday season.

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    1. I picked up several of these "passport to crime" books. It was a great way to discover some new series :) We are having fun during this season, and I hope your holidays are enjoyable :)

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