The Neapolitan streak

By Timothy Holme

Book Overview

Achille Peroni loves the spicy food and passionate arguments of southern Italy, land of his birth. But fate and the Italian police force have stuck him in Verona, a city of bean soup and endless... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0698110528
• ISBN13: 9780698110526
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Italian intrigue told with British wit

Set in Verona in 1980, The Neapolitan Streak is the first in a series featuring Inspector Peroni, "the Valentino of the Police Force", a thoroughly likable Neapolitan working in Verona. Its solid whodunit plot involves modern politics and latter-day Montagues & Capulets; the tensions & stereotypes of northern vs southern Italians form an amusing counterpoint to the action. There are plenty of twists & surprises, but perhaps even more of a draw are the understated British humor (the author was British) and the well-drawn characters. For the squeamish mystery-lover: there's no in-depth gore, just minimal descriptions of the crimes. This will appeal to anyone who likes an Italian setting and/or dry British humor. Although Inspector Peroni is quite unlike Jonathan Argyll, I imagine these qualities would endear this book to anyone who enjoyed Iain Pears' Art History Mystery series. I hope Felony & Mayhem is planning on reprinting the other 4 mysteries by this author (The Devil & the Dolce Vita, The Assissi Murders, At the Lake of Sudden Death and A funeral of gondolas). Highly recommended.