A Florentine Death: Amazon.co.uk: Michele Giuttari, Howard Curtis (translator): Books

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Review
'...has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic of the genre - a highly atmospheric tale of murder, the mafia and the rarely explored criminal underbelly of Florentine life...Ferrara is set to run and run.' Mirror 'An exceptional thriller and I'd wager a handy sum that Michele Ferrara will be with us for some time to come.' Evening Herald 'Giuttari shapes his knowledge and experience into a cracking page-turner.' RTE Guide 'His plotting is tight, the suspense ratchets up and the characters are very believable and captivating' MIRROR

Evening Herald
`An exceptional thriller and I'd wager a handy sum that Michele Ferrara will be with us for some time to come.'

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(7)

Average Customer Review

1.8 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unconvincing, 23 Jul 2007

By	N. Megahey (Belfast, N Ireland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

A fictional novel written by a real-life police chief, A Florentine Death would appear to have all the elements for an explosive expos� of Italian society's complex and uneasy mix of religion, crime, politics and cover-ups, but sadly the author, whether through prudence or just lack of literary ability, is unable to make much of it. The writing is amateurish, the dialogue unconvincing - I don't think you can blame the translator in this case - and the tone is horribly self-important throughout. Even more self-regarding is the plot of a serial killer who has hatched an elaborate series of murders of homosexuals which - as the literate riddles he sends to Ferrara indicate - he intends to crown with the death of the Florence Chief of Police himself.

The least you could expect from Giuttari is an insider's knowledge of the reality of crime investigation and the political wrangling that goes on around it, but the workings of the police hierarchy are superficially dealt with (perhaps for fear of upsetting any real people in these positions?), and there is little sense of urgency evident from the authorities as the serial killer works his way through each of the killings he has promised. The characterisation is poor throughout, and even though the Chief of Police Michele Ferrara is clearly based on the author himself - even down to the physical appearance if the photograph on the cover is anything to go by - the main character never really comes to life on the page. Ferrara, we discover, smokes expensive cigars, likes good wine, good food and opera - nothing terribly distinctive or original there. There isn't too much mystery or suspense about the identity of the killer either, since his suspicious behaviour from his first appearance early in the novel marks him out immediately as the chief suspect, particularly since there is no other reason for him to be part of the story.

The impression given by the novel is that Giuttari has read 'Silence of The Lambs' and 'The DaVinci Code' and thought - "Well, I'm an expert and I've had to deal with the real thing - I could do better than that". He can't. Perhaps the novel has more interest in Italy through the fact of it being written by a famous police officer, but there's no reason to expect that this will carry any weight in the UK.

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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dire, 31 Jul 2007

By	D. P. Mankin (Ceredigion, Wales) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is little to recommend this novel and it is difficult to understand how it has managed to be published. Poor characterisation, stilted dialogue, an absence of suspense and mystery...need I continue. Having read a reasonably good review of the novel in a national newspaper I can only assume the reviewer had not actually bothered to read the book, relying instead on the marketing blurb. If you're looking for a good conspiracy theory then you may surely find one in the mystery of how this novel ever got published rather than within its covers. I gave up after a hundred or so pages...life's too short!

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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Flat, 28 Jul 2007

By	Jeff Cotton "fictionalcities.com" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well, I tried, I really did. I managed to get past the flat and clich�-ridden prose, the unconvincing dialogue, the very ordinary characters, and the fact that the lack of any descriptive talent was doing Florence no favours. Also a friend who managed to finish it had warned me that the lesbian character gets anally raped later on and enjoys it and that there's also some gratuitous Thomas Harris-style stuff, what with the gruesome torture implements and the man-eating wolves. I wasn't enjoying the book hugely but I was persevering. But then on page 107 the cops recover a Velazquez painting and our hero is impressed by how its eyes follow him around the room. I'm sorry but, as has been said before and often, life is too short.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious rubbish
Love a good crime story and bought this on a literature shopping spree in oul sod for reading in my chosen exile. Sigh. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Tomanini

1.0 out of 5 stars A typical Italian evening show!
This is my first fictional crime novel so I can't really compare. Although I read it quite quickly (maybe because I was sick in bed! Read more

Published 3 months ago by Acquafortis

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull
A Florentine Death was originally published in Italian, but has been translated into English by Howard Curtis. Read more

Published 3 months ago by J. Cronin

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor fare generally
I suppose the problem with this book is that I came to it after reading Camilleri (entertaining if unlikely), Dibdin and Leon (just so much better). Read more

Published 5 months ago by Mondoro

1.0 out of 5 stars Good book but so badly translated that it's impossible to read
The Italian author and former police Michele Giuttari has received a lot of praise for this first book of his. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Gwilym

2.0 out of 5 stars Thank god for Donna Leon

Hmm. Having just finished reading this book, I have to agree with much of what's already been written. Read more

Published 9 months ago by emma who reads a lot

4.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional debut
This is a good crime story - and doesn't read like a first novel. Characterisation is better than good. Plot is complex and interesting. Read more

Published 12 months ago by lmhh

1.0 out of 5 stars poor stuff
A dreadful book. Dialogue to make you weep with despair. How the hell did this get published? Avoid.

Published 16 months ago by Fred Hannah

2.0 out of 5 stars Should have stuck to the day job
If you can ignore the essential subtext of "lesbians just need a good (in this case non-consensual anal) shagging to become straight and all gay men are perverted individuals with... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Rebel Goddess

2.0 out of 5 stars European bestseller - why?
This novel was written by a police chief who was involved in the hunt for the notorious Florentine killer know as Il Mostro. Read more

Published 20 months ago by S. Finch

› See all 14 customer reviews...

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	81% buy the item featured on this page: A Florentine Death 1.8 out of 5 stars (14)
	6% buy A Death in Tuscany (Michele Ferrara) 3.7 out of 5 stars (3) �5.49
	5% buy The Shape of Water 3.9 out of 5 stars (16) �4.79
	4% buy August Heat (Montalbano 10) 3.9 out of 5 stars (9) �6.49


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A Florentine Death (Paperback)

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