Temporary Perfections
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Priase for the series: Hard-boiled and sun-dried in equal parts. Where Philip Marlowe would be knocking back bourbon and listening to the snap of fist on jaw, Guerrieri prefers Sicilian wine and Leonard Cohen. A" Financial Times The role of Guerrieri is to take on impossible cases that have little chance of success. His efforts to prove his client's innocence bring him into dangerous conflict with Mafia interests. Everything a legal thriller should be.A" The Times
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Manuela, the daughter of a wealthy couple from Bari, disappeared without trace months before and the police have closed their investigation, to the parents' despair. Counsellor Guerrieri reluctantly takes on an unusual assignment: to seek new evidence to force the police to reopen the case. A job more suitable to a private detective but a job that leads him to Nadia, a former client, a fascinating woman with an ambiguous past and to the tempting Caterina, Manuela's best friend, exquisitely too young for the jaded Guerrieri...
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are like me a lover of crime fiction, and you haven't discovered the Bitter Lemon Press, then you have a treat in store. They publish quality crime fiction and thrillers, often set in far away exotic locations. My own favourite discovery from them so far is Gianrico Carofiglio, who has just published his fourth novel featuring Italian lawyer Guido Guerrieri, `Temporary Perfections'.
Carofiglio's background is particularly interesting, for before he discovered his talent for penning books, he was a prosecutor in the Italian city of Bari in Puglia, who specialised in prosecuting members of the mafia. And he uses his personal experiences to add depth and colour to Guerrieri's own legal career. He does have some of the, by now, obligatory tick list features of a crime fiction hero. These inevitably include failed personal relationships; the inability to achieve a healthy work/life balance; and a penchant for fine food and alcohol, sometimes to excess.
But despite this adherence to the formula, Carofiglio achieves a gritty pace to his books, which are always a cracking read. If anything this fourth one is slightly less strong than the previous three, as there does not seem to be that much sleuthing or legal work involved. But Guerrieri makes full use of past clients he has, usually successfully it has be said, defended, such as ex prostitutes, drug dealers and Mafioso, to get to the bottom of the disappearance of the daughter of a rich Bari family. If only he could resist the temptations of a young pretty girl to flatter his mid life crisis...
Carofiglio also achieves a wonderful sense of Bari, the backstreets and underbelly of which are centre stage in his stories, with the odd venture to Rome and other Italian cities thrown in for good measure. If you take my advice, and you know you want to, you will head straight for the first instalment of the legal adventures of Guido Guerrieri, `Involuntary Witness' and work your way through the following three books too, as the nights draw in, and there is nothing better than a good crime book to keep you amused.
Carofiglio's background is particularly interesting, for before he discovered his talent for penning books, he was a prosecutor in the Italian city of Bari in Puglia, who specialised in prosecuting members of the mafia. And he uses his personal experiences to add depth and colour to Guerrieri's own legal career. He does have some of the, by now, obligatory tick list features of a crime fiction hero. These inevitably include failed personal relationships; the inability to achieve a healthy work/life balance; and a penchant for fine food and alcohol, sometimes to excess.
But despite this adherence to the formula, Carofiglio achieves a gritty pace to his books, which are always a cracking read. If anything this fourth one is slightly less strong than the previous three, as there does not seem to be that much sleuthing or legal work involved. But Guerrieri makes full use of past clients he has, usually successfully it has be said, defended, such as ex prostitutes, drug dealers and Mafioso, to get to the bottom of the disappearance of the daughter of a rich Bari family. If only he could resist the temptations of a young pretty girl to flatter his mid life crisis...
Carofiglio also achieves a wonderful sense of Bari, the backstreets and underbelly of which are centre stage in his stories, with the odd venture to Rome and other Italian cities thrown in for good measure. If you take my advice, and you know you want to, you will head straight for the first instalment of the legal adventures of Guido Guerrieri, `Involuntary Witness' and work your way through the following three books too, as the nights draw in, and there is nothing better than a good crime book to keep you amused.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The latest in the Guido Guerrieri series by the estimable Italian crime writer, Gianrico Carofiglio. It's both a well-crafted murder mystery and a series of meditations and recollections by a man of principle and self-awareness. Another case of respect for Socrates' observation about the unexamined life being worthess.
Protagonist Guerrieri is a well-respected defense lawyer based in Bari, Italy who is approached by a colleague to investigate the unresolved disappearance of a young local woman. Reluctantly, Guerrieri agrees to make some inquiries, not expecting to find anything not already reported by the Italian police. His insightful handling of the missing woman's friends gradually opens up new possibilities and eventually a resolution to the case. As the procedural is launched and continues, the reader's respect for the lawyer's character grows. He's a thoughtful and interesting guy, but with a modest ego and good working moral compass. Someone to be admired for his approach to life, accomplishments and even his occasional missteps. The man has good friends with whom he has meaningful conversations, relatively free of cliches. He freely borrows other people's methods and gives them full credit when they succeed for him. In a genre where protagonists are most often addicts, recovering addicts or are regular punching bags for the bad guys, here's a hero who is none of that and, in fact, uses a punching bag himself..
This is a fine story and highly enjoyable read by an author at the top of his game. Highly recommended.
Protagonist Guerrieri is a well-respected defense lawyer based in Bari, Italy who is approached by a colleague to investigate the unresolved disappearance of a young local woman. Reluctantly, Guerrieri agrees to make some inquiries, not expecting to find anything not already reported by the Italian police. His insightful handling of the missing woman's friends gradually opens up new possibilities and eventually a resolution to the case. As the procedural is launched and continues, the reader's respect for the lawyer's character grows. He's a thoughtful and interesting guy, but with a modest ego and good working moral compass. Someone to be admired for his approach to life, accomplishments and even his occasional missteps. The man has good friends with whom he has meaningful conversations, relatively free of cliches. He freely borrows other people's methods and gives them full credit when they succeed for him. In a genre where protagonists are most often addicts, recovering addicts or are regular punching bags for the bad guys, here's a hero who is none of that and, in fact, uses a punching bag himself..
This is a fine story and highly enjoyable read by an author at the top of his game. Highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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A lawyer turned crime investigator seems to work well in this book. It's book number 4 so I suppose the three before this are of a similar nature and therefore run the risk of repetition. Since I haven't read them, that's maybe unfair. However, I enjoyed this story, not so much for the investgative powers of Guido Guerrieri but rather the excellent portrayal of Bari and its inhabitants. The characters brought together by the disappearance of a student daughter of a wealthy couple seem to find a place in the reader's mind, unlike many who pass through like running water.
I didn't suss the ending, probably becaus I was engrossed in the atmosphere of the book. It's a great story, sort of Hercule Poirot meets well, who, really? Columbo? Marlowe? Anyway, Guerrieri gets on with the job, enjoying the impossibility of a realtionship with a much younger girl - the friend of the missing daughter - whilst knowing that such a move would go nowhere. Actually, it does and the author manages very well to put it all into context without lessening the interest factor in solving the mystery.
A new author for me and one I will follow on the next journey.
I didn't suss the ending, probably becaus I was engrossed in the atmosphere of the book. It's a great story, sort of Hercule Poirot meets well, who, really? Columbo? Marlowe? Anyway, Guerrieri gets on with the job, enjoying the impossibility of a realtionship with a much younger girl - the friend of the missing daughter - whilst knowing that such a move would go nowhere. Actually, it does and the author manages very well to put it all into context without lessening the interest factor in solving the mystery.
A new author for me and one I will follow on the next journey.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another great read from this Italian master
Guido Guerrieri, our hero in this the fourth book in the seris is in a melancholic state. We find the crusading criminal lawyer of Bari, now in his forties knocking back Primitivo... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gerry McCaffrey
Vanishing From the Train in the Italian Countryside
Guido Guerrieri is a defence advocate. With his staff increasing he has recently moved to new offices and is still trying to get used to them. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. E. Quinn
Really unusual and entertaining
Carofiglio always seems to really understand the subject matter and have strong views about the main characters. This book is no exception and I am fast becoming a real fan. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Wilz
Enjoyable character-based crime italian novel
I read the first Carofiglio novel Involuntary Witness (Guido Guerrieri 1) some time ago and enjoyed it but never got around to reading the rest. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Pardo
Well worth a try
Carofiglio's book is an unusual production. It has an engaging central character and a number of others, some of whom take it in turns to act as the sounding board for his ideas. Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. Brack
Strong story, strong characters, Southern Italian pace.
Guerrieri's a good honest lawyer working in southern Italy, and it's a pleasure to meet him. For once the hero of a detective novel is only relatively troubled. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. R.
A Trulli unusual tale.
Having read Donna Leon, and Michael Dibdin I looked forward to this offering from someone who understood the apparently Machiavellian machinations of his own country's legal... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Captain Chaos (Semper Vigilans)
Temporary Perfections could lead to permanent addicition
Guido Guerrieri is a lawyer - an Avvocato - in Bari. Early in Gianrico Carofiglio's tale, Guerrieri recalls a boyhood friend who had ambitions to become a magistrate but failed... Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. M. Sinstadt
Very enjoyable read if slightly thin plot
This is the fourth in Carofiglio's series featuring Avvocato Guido Guerrieri, a defence counsel based in Bari. Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. V. Clarke
Excellent story, not just a court room drama
This is the second one of these I've read from Carofiglio and it was a joy to read. Our hero, Guido, is not the typical lead character, is full of contradictions from being a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. J. Sudworth
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