Customer Reviews

Ghirlandaio's Daughter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The overall premise of this book was interesting - an "artful" murder mystery set in Tuscan Italy. Having visited Lucca myself, I was somewhat disppointed to find that relatively little of the flavor of the place came through in the book. Worse, the characters are shallow and stereotyped. The detective intuits his way through virtually every difficulty, using his mind reading powers to solve each problem. While a psychic detective may appeal to some, I find the concept not at all believable. The rest of the characters are poorly developed, shallow stereotypes and the dialogue is childish. The story had potential, but in the end, I would classify this book as "fluff".

This is a very badly written mystery. The language is tortured, the plot is weak, the characters have no depth. Want some examples- try using the word "effulgent" in a love poem. The main detective intuits the next step (the same way the Profiler does on TV) and goes to the scene of the crime long after ward only to discover the main clue that all of the local police missed. Lastly, a mystery set in Lucca should be filled with details about the beautiful walled Italian city- you better know those details from another source, you won't find them in any depth here.

This is a great old fashioned mystery in the Agatha Christie mold. There is an interesting, cultivated detective, a pleasant dalliance, and plenty of loopy characters. The murderer and the motive are plausible and all is revealed in the traditional gathering of suspects. Subplots-involving family matters- are quite touching even. A good choice for art lovers and Italophiles. Ciao.

The further adventures of Carlo Arbati from award-winning author John Spencer Hill. I enjoyed this even more than John's last offering, The Last Castrato (which is also superb). Without exception, all the characters were marvelous, running the gamut from warm and engaging to dastardly yet intriguing. Carlo Arbati delivers superbly in this, his second outing. This book is a real page-turner and wins my prestigious Lost Z-z-z's Award (by keeping me up way past my bedtime reading it!)

I recommend this one highly

Florentine police detective Carlo Arbati is elated over winning a gold medal for his new poetry book. He travels to Lucca to collect his award and spend some vacation time with his friend Inspector Giancarlo Bonelli, who tells him about recent spearing death of an American. At the official inquest, the death is ruled an accident. All seems quiet even though the two police buddies have doubts about the official findings. ..... However, everything changes when a second corpse surfaces. Philadelphia lawyer and a cousin to the first victim, Peter Morgan is found dead. Carlo and Giancarlo work together to try to learn what is behind the two killings. As they untangle a web of deceit an blackmail more complex than the DNA double helix, the two law enforcement officials place their own lives on the line. The lineup of people who want Morgan dead is immense. However when Arbati is on the case abetted by Bonelli, it is a matter of time before they uncover the identity of the killer, unless, that is, they are killed first. ...... The second Carol Arbati mystery is a great tale of international intrigue. The superb story line will be devoured by who-done-it fans. Carl and his pal are great characters, and the support cast add just the right amount of flavoring to the mix. This novel is so enjoyable that this reviewer plans to read John Spencer Hill's first Arbati tale, THE LAST CASTRATO, some time soon. .....Harriet Klausner