Almost Blue [Paperback]

Carlo Lucarelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

A serial killer is terrorising the students of Bologna. Rookie female detective Grazia Negro is determined to solve the case. Only one eye witness can positively identify the killer ...and he's blind. Simone spends his days in solitude, listening to Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue" and scanning the radio wave of the city to eavesdrop on other people's lives. He likes to imagine what people are like - based on the tone and "colour" of their voice - and his acute hearing sets alarm bells ringing upon hearing the voice of the killer. The perspective alternates between the vulnerable and reclusive Simone and the dark psychotic killer, obsessed with continually 'reincarnating' himself as his latest victim in a frantic bid to escape the torture of his inner demons. Lucarelli paints his villain in a brilliant and yet terrifying light and you will have to stop yourself from screaming out to Grazia and Simone to warn them of the looming danger.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The most well known Italian sleuths (Dibdin's Aurelio Zen, Leon's Guido Brunetti) are aging melancholics. Lucarelli, who sings in a postpunk band and has written 11 novels (this is his first to appear in the U.S.), gives us Grazia Negro, a hip, young female detective working with a newly formed unit designed to track serial killers. There's one on the loose in Bologna, preying on university students and cruising the city's underground music clubs. What gives this novel its spark is Negro's encounter with Simone, a young blind man who spends his time listening to jazz and tuning into the sounds of the city on his scanner, which captures the voice of the killer. Lucarelli's characterization of Simone is fascinating, especially the detailed exposition of how the blind man hears what we see. His romance with Negro proves utterly believable and remarkably erotic. There are a few ragged plot edges here, but nothing to deter us from the conclusion that Lucarelli is a fresh and exciting new voice in Italian crime fiction. Keep the translations coming. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

...flows with vivid sensuality: as I read...I could almost hear the sultry saxophone moaning a dim back-alley refrain... -- SOMA Magazine, July 2002 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vintage Books USA (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099459434
• ISBN-13: 978-0099459439
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,210,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Distinctive prose style sets this one apart, May 5, 2002

By 

"dtubaugh" (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost Blue (City Lights Italian Voices) (Paperback)

I bought this after it had been featured on NPR, and found it a compelling and disturbing read. The way that the author alternates POV's is challenging. As you are reading, you are not often able to immediately determine who is speaking. Chapter trasition is inspired, as well. The violence is described in a manner that is spine-chilling without being repulsive. This is a great read for someone bored with the cookie cutter way thrillers are currently written. It is refreshingly short and well-paced.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucarreili -Almost Blue is a modern day masterpiece, August 1, 2002

By 

leonel david jimenez (miami, fl United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost Blue (City Lights Italian Voices) (Paperback)

Lucareelli from the first chapther grabs the readers attention and doesn't let go to the chilling ending. It not only is exciting murder thriller but also offers insight into cultural aspects of Modern day Italy. A word of warning the novel isn't for the faint of heart. I still have trouble sleeping at night I keep waking imaging the killer is in my room.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing fast-paced compelling read, April 5, 2002

By 

rtistelle "rtistelle" (Denver area) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Almost Blue (City Lights Italian Voices) (Paperback)

Meant to give 4 stars. Very Nice translation. Good Mystery.
What a delight to happen upon this Lucarelli book! Grazia Negro enters the book world of female cop detectives for English readers with this translation. This is a crime noir novel with signifigant twists from the ordinary. Besides the fast-paced complelling plot of tracking the serial killer, these pages also invite the reader into the world of Simone, a blind Bologna native, who provides the distinctive experience of seeing through a blind man's senses -unheard of in the usual crime/detective novel. The effect is poetic, lyrical, and fresh. The quality of translation is clear in that the reader also perceives the richness of the Italian experience, with just enough original Italian phrasing left by Stransky and with Lucarelli's pictoral journeys through the city to provide these nuances. Lucarelli, musician that he is, serendipidiously provides morsels of contemporary music which the xgen folks particularly will enjoy: NIN, Chet Baker, Costello and more.
Crime buffs, book-lovers who enjoy thrillers and mysteries, especially those jaded by books in those genre which seem written in canned formulas these days, will welcome this new arrival.
If Lucarelli has 10 more untranslated novels, keep them coming Ms. Stransky. An eager audience awaits.