Saturday, November 27, 2010

Marshal Guarnaccia Mysteries

Magdalen Nabb wrote Florentine mysteries....her protagonist is Marshal Guarnaccia, a slow, ruminating, plodding hulk of a Carabinieri from Syracuse (Southern Italy).

The mysteries number 12 in all and take place in and around Florence & the Pitti Palace where Marshal Guarnaccia is stationed.  The first was published in 1981 and the last, posthumously in 2008.

The plots center around murder most heinous and widley differ in victims.  Of the five I've read so far, many of the victims are foreigners, living in Florence. But all, so far, have a common underlying theme; Family & Family Relationships....

Not all of the books are well written, some have bored me to tears, one I didn't even understand the ending or what the point of the book was....I thought I did, but then the story was over and...where's the ending? 

So far I have read: "Death of a Dutchman", "Deat in Autumn", "Death in Springtime",  "Marshal & the Murderer", "The Marshal's Own Case",  and "The Innocent".  I plan on reading all twelve.

Of the author: Magdalen Nabb was born in Lancashire in 1947 and trained as a potter. In 1975, speaking no Italian, she gave up being a potter, sold her belongings and moved to Florence where she lived until her death in 2007. She was 60 and survived by her son.

Her obituary can be found: http://italian-mysteries.com/MNap.html

Her  website: http://magdalennabb.com/

My reviews can be found by clicking my shelfari bookshelf to the left.