Death of an Englishman

By Magdalen Nabb

Book Overview

It is just before Christmas and the marshal wants to go South to spend the holiday with his wife and family, but first he must recover from the flu (which has left the Florentine caribinieri short-handed) and also solve a murder. A seemingly respectable retired Englishman, living in a flat on the Via Maggio near the Santa Trinita bridge, was shot in the back during the night. He was well-connected and Scotland Yard has despatched two officers to "assist" the Italians in solving the crime. But it is the marshal, a quiet observer, not an intellectual, who manages to figure out what happened, and why.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684177579
• ISBN13: 9780684177571
• Release Date: October 1982
• Publisher: Scribner
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Marshal Guarnaccia series

This series focuses on the texture of the neighborhood and the culture. These books are to savor, like a slow Italian meal. Plot? Also slow, but satisfying. Like good fruit for dessert, not tiramisu.

Clever introduction of a main character

The device used to delay entry of the Marshal into the case is clever and unprecedented.

Forza Firenze

The re-release of Magdalene Nabb's Florentine stories is long overdue ( and shame on her UK publisher for dropping her ).Congratulations are due to SoHo Press for their continuing ressucitation of some of the finest crime writers ( Van Der Wetterring , Tokagi and Janes etc )who all seem to have been dropped in favour of half-witted serial killer clones.These are some of the finest crime stories ever written and their evocation of Florence is flawless.Marshal Guarnaccia is one of the most engaging protagonists since Maigret and the stories have a similar emphasis on the observation of character and cause rather than Chritie-esque puzzles.In many ways the mystery seems secondary to Ms. Nabb's exceptional ability to draw the reader into the lives of her characters and the bustle of Florentine daily life.Buy three copies, one to read and re-read to destruction , one to keep for the time when your first falls to bits and one to give to your best friend.Brava Signora !