Product Description

Praise for Magdalen Nabb:

"Every word should be savored."—Washington Post Book World

"The best mystery news in ages is that Soho is restoring to the canon Magdalen Nabb and her tremendous creation, Marshal Guarnaccia of the Italian Police in Florence."—Chicago Tribune

"Exquisite."—The New York Times Book Review

"Nabb continues to extend conventions of the police procedural to suit her own intriguing vision and purpose."—Philadelphia Inquirer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #445019 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781569473405
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
As in the previous entries in Nabb's Florentine series, the mystery here is incidental to the story of people infused with life by the sensitive author. The sixth case assigned to Marshal Guarnacci of the Pitti Palace brings him to a working-class community where a former mental patient, Clementina, lies dead after a clumsy attempt to fake her suicide. A poor woman, helped by neighbors, Clementina had nothing worth killing for, and the marshal's questions yield few clues. Although the cold, domineering prosecutor chivvies the marshal as a stupid plodder, Guarnacci traces links to the victim patiently, simultaneously giving attention to everyone who brings their problems to him. Eventually, a conversation with an elderly survivor of the ruinous flood in Florence tells the marshal what he needs to know in order to convict a low type for several felonies. This superb novel rises far above the staples of the genre.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Magdalen Nabb was born and educated in England. She lived and wrote in Florence, where she died on August 18, 2007.

Customer Reviews

Marshal Guarnaccia and other people's little problems
The best time to murder someone in Italy is during its brief but sweltering summer, when all the sensible people have left for the coast. Those who are left, like Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Florence Carabinieri, keep to the margins of life - the shady side of the street and the edges of the day.

It would be easy to dismiss the suicide of a neighborhood "crazy" as just another sad chapter in the life of the urban poor. But Crazy Clementina lives in a close-knit traditional Italian community, which makes sure that the unfortunate neighbor has a daily bowl of soup with bread or enough gas to feed her little stove.

The Marshal and the Madwoman was first published in Britain by Penguin Books in 1988. It's one in a series about the phlegmatic Sicilian investigator, who (to his supervisor's constant irritation) tends to get involved in "other people's little problems". This is a re-issue by Soho Press.

I've read a number of the books in the Soho Crime series and there hasn't been a dud amongst them. The writers are all first-flight: van de Wetering, Lovesey, Qiu, Matsumoto and so on. I can recommend them all.

An excellent book to read during the dog-days of summer
If you've never read a mystery by Magdalen Nabb I envy you the treat you're about to enjoy. This is one in the series of Marshall Guarnacia novels set in Florence Italy. It is one of the hottest days of summer. The city is mostly empty since everyone has left on holiday so the Marshall decides to take advantage of the calm to teach his wife to drive. They have barely begun the lesson when there is an outcry in the next street. In the space of a moment, the Marshall's wife and his dreams of peace are left behind. Magdalen Nabb has filled the book with so many details you feel the street burning the soles of your feet. The characters are three-dimensional down to the lowest ranking man in the office and they grow and change with each book. It may be hot where you are but it is even hotter in Florence with the Marshall and following his troubles will take your mind off your own. I heartily recommend all the books in this series.

Haunting....
As a previous reviewer mentioned - this book does a brilliant job of describing August in Florence. The heat is so pervasive, it is like a third character. This book starts so slowly, it almost meanders - we are "with" the Marshal through every step of his sweating August. It seems to gather momentem in the final third, rather like a horse race - (I read that Magdalen Nabb was a great rider). I think you have to be in the mood for a book like this - it is not going to pick you up and take you for a romp (ANOTHER horse metaphor!). You must be in a contempletive mood and take it on its own terms. You'll be rewarded!! And there are many more MArshall books to read!