Magdalen Nabb: Death of a Dutchman

Magdalen Nabb

Death of a Dutchman

Christina says:

Following up on the numerous complaints of Signora Giusti in the scorching summer sun is one of the less pleasant duties of Mareciallo Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri in Florence. The Signora is an elderly lady unable to leave her apartment who kills time by spreading vicious gossip. This time she complains about the noise in the neighboring apartment that should be empty. When the Mareciallo checks it out he finds the owner, a dutch jeweller who seldomly comes to Florence. He is dying and it seems that he killed himself with a drug overdose. But Guarnaccia doesn’t believe in suicide. Who was the woman Signora Giusti heard in the apartment and what is the meaning of the dutchman’s last words: "It wasn’t her"?

Although it’s not Guarnaccia’s jurisdiction he stays on the case and traces a mysterious woman. But with a gossip monger and a blind florist as his only witnesses the solution of the case seems very far away.

DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN is a rather slow-paced mystery. Magdalen Nabb constructed an interesting case, but her detective is painfully slow in coming up with answers and following leads. The author digresses in her tale just like Signora Giusti. Unfortunately the digressions don’t serve as red herrings for the reader. Mareciallo Guarnaccia is a modest and pensive man who strives to do his job as well as possible and to take good care of his subordinates. Sometimes I wanted to grab and shake him, because he takes too long to figure out the obvious. Don’t expect any surprising twists and turns or a detailed description of police procedures. The criminal aspect is dealt with in a regrettably short manner and the subplot is so predictable I found it annoying. But if you enjoy a relaxed flow of the plot and a slightly melancholy tone you might like this book. Another point I thought irritating was that Nabb, who writes for a non-Italian audience, doesn’t explain details of everyday life in Italy, but remembers her role as a tourist guide when it comes to a building as famous as the Palazzo Vecchio.

Well written, but as a mystery not my taste.

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Christina Gross