Death of a Serpent (A Serafina Florio Mystery) [Kindle Edition]

Susan Russo Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Three bodies . . . A dark secret . . . And one woman determined to uncover the truth.

Sicily, October 1866. At a high-class house near Palermo, three women are knifed to death, their foreheads slashed with a strange mark, their bodies dumped on the madam's doorstep. Infuriated with the inept police inspector who does nothing to solve the crimes, the madam summons her friend, Serafina, and asks her to catch the killer. Serafina launches into the investigation, gathering evidence, following leads. An unexpected murder plunges her into despair, but not for long. In a defiant meeting with the local mafia capo, her arch enemy, she makes an important discovery. Now convinced of the murderer's identity, she enlists the help of her very pregnant daughter and together they conceive a daring plan to ensnare the killer, but not before Serafina uncovers shocking truths of her own.

    EXTRA

*****Be sure to read NO MORE BROTHERS, and DEATH IN BAGHERIA, the second and third books in the Serafina Florio series of mysteries.

  Meet Serafina Florio, a widow and midwife-turned-sleuth who births babies, struggles to support her children, and catches criminals despite insurmountable odds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It will propel you into another world and hold you spellbound until the end." --Marilou George, Kindle Book Review

  

". . .I was spellbound by the intrigue and the courage of Serafina as she plunged head first into this mystery." --Susan Livingston, Reviewer

  

" ... an engrossing page twisting read ... loved the writing style ... even when I came to the end I still wanted more and more!" -- Amy willingham, Reader

  

"Serafina is a great character and I loved getting to know her ... She does her best and never gives up even when things start to seem hopeless." --Katie Cody, Reviewer

  

" ... an author and series not to miss!" --Readers Favorite

  

"This book is brilliant, a well thought out story of fear and murder." marglyn, Reviewer

From the Author

Serafina, a mother, widow, and midwife-turned-sleuth, is a feisty character struggling to survive and keep her family together. She's not perfect, not by a long shot, but in the end, I think she makes most of the right decisions and never, ever gives up. She teaches me a lot about what it must have been like to be a woman and mother with diminishing funds in her chaotic, male-dominated world.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 518 KB
• Print Length: 300 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Conca d'Oro Publishing (January 7, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006V3XOKI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,950 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #40 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Continental European

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Engaging mystery set in 1866 Sicily February 18, 2012

By Sherry Landrum

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A great mystery where the sleuth is a mid-wife, Serafina, who helps her childhood friend, brothel owner Rosa to solve who is murdering her girls. Set in Sicily in 1866, when Italy and Sicily are knee-deep in wars and Mafia Dons offer protection at a price, the police chief does not have time to solve the murders. Rosa and Serafina, and Serafina's large family are great characters; the descriptions of Polermo, Sicily beautiful. I had a bit of trouble with the writing style. The author uses a syntax that kept pulling me out of the story. I call it "yoda speak:" "Outside you are going?" as an example (not specifically from the book.) After a while, however, the story was so compelling I just ignored it. I received this as a Daily free e-book from Kindle.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Death of a Serpent May 31, 2012

By Lana Baker

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I received a copy of this book for review through Reader Spoils.

Having never read any of the other Serafina Florio mysteries, I don't know if in one of the earlier books, more background is given. In this one, the writer just jumps on in to Serafina's life, including a summons from her close friend to view the scene of a murder at her place of business. Many, MANY people are introduced in the first few chapters - so many that I was very confused about pretty much anybody except Serafina and Rosa. Most baffling of all were the conversations Serafina had with Maddelina (?). I'm still not sure whether she's alive or dead.

It's never established how or why Serafina Florio is particularly qualified to solve a mystery, aside from the fact that she's willing to keep looking and is perfectly willing to nose into other people's lives. I didn't find the character of Serafina, or any of the characters, for that matter, especially appealing, nor was the mystery compelling.

I disliked the writing style, with its short, choppy sentences and weird frequently-backwards dialogue. Perhaps this type of dialogue is in keeping with that time period for Sicily, but it was pervasive and got annoying. Death of a Serpent was well-written, technically, thus the three stars. I found few grammar errors outside of dialogue (where I give it a pass, for the most part), and no spelling or homonym errors that I recall. In addition, because some local words and phrases were thrown in randomly, I learned some Italian in context (though truthfully, some of it, I wouldn't have known what the word meant except that I already knew a very similar word or phrase in Mexican)....

Other people will enjoy (and obviously have enjoyed) the book, the dialogue, the syntax, the characters, the mystery. I didn't, but I can't really hold that against Ms. Anderson. The writing was good enough technically that I will probably look for other works by Ms. Anderson, but I doubt I'll read any more period pieces. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The next one will be even better. June 18, 2012

By Book Him Danno

Format:Kindle Edition

For starters I enjoyed this mystery and found the characters interesting along with the Madam. I was confused at a few spots and needed to read some of the book again. The mystery was enough to keep me guessing but I really missed the boat on who the killer was. I was surprised and needed to go back and figure out where we had met this character, the name was familiar I just couldn't place them.

I read this at night before bed and I hate to say it, but I kept falling asleep and waking up with my Kindle in my face. I think that this author is going to get better at her writing and I look forward to that. Watching an author grow as a writer is fulfilling for earlier readers.

The mystery centered around the deaths of the working girls at a high end brothel. Serafina is a widow who owes the madam for help. She goes around trying to find the killer with little help from the local police. Her family is sweet and the kids all have a special talent that they use to help the family make it without a father. I see Serafina as a character that will grow with the author and become someone we look forward to reading about.

Mysteries are fun and this one isn't bad...but the next one will be even better.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Death of a Serpent January 24, 2012

By Walter J. Ramsey

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a great mystery, I hope there will be many more Serafina Florio mysteries to follow. The personalities of the characters really shine through. I especially loved the details about sewing and cooking in 19th century Sicily - I love both activities and the history imparted in these descriptions is fascinating.

As for the story line, there are a few details that are left to the reader's interpretation toward the end - I really liked that, I think it's more true to life. Susan gives you enough clues so that you can form your own wild theories about the resolution as you read along, but leaves just enough space at the end for your own opinions.

Can't wait for the next one!

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars a jumble of words February 15, 2012

By RitaB

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I tried to persevere with this book but it's just not worth it. It's a jumble of words with sentences that are incomplete and others that just don't make sense. The story jumps from paragraph to paragraph without structure. Characters and locations are not developed and are introduced haphazardly. Names of characters and places are just thrown in without explanation of who they are or description. The period is not represented accurately and is portrayed in a manner that is not representative of the location or time. I read about 10% of the book and then just gave up on it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read June 18, 2012

By Zoe Brooks

Format:Kindle Edition

I read this novel while in bed ill. It is a tribute to the book and the author that it proved a perfect distraction from my ill health. I confess I am a sucker for historical detective stories - books by Ellis Peters and Robert Van Gulik take up a whole bookshelf. And this book sits well beside them.

Death of a Serpent is set in Sicily in 1877 six years after Italy's reunification. The author uses the uneasiness and lawlessness to great effect - ex-soldiers for hire or begging on the streets, the threat local don, the local police ineffectual and overwhelmed - create a scene in which the only way to find the serial killer of prostitutes is for the brothel madam to call for the help of her best friend.

The central character, Serafina, is a widow and mother of seven children and is the local midwife. She is an entirely credible character, as is her friend and brothel madam Rosa. Serafina's relationship with the friend and her children, especially her errant daughter, greatly added to my enjoyment.

My only quibble with the book is that too many characters are introduced at the beginning, often by name. Someone once told me that you should only introduce the reader to a maximum of three named characters in the first chapter, otherwise they get confused. I'm not sure if that is true but I'm afraid I did with this book, partly because I am not used to Italian names. But that is a minor quibble and I soon got past it and into the more important problem of who was the madman murdering those girls.

This is not a book for people who like hard-bitten detectives together with lots of violence. This is a gentler sort of read. I am pleased to see that this is the first in a series of Serafina mysteries. I have just downloaded the second book in the series....

Zoe Brooks - novel writer and poet Read more ›

More About the Author

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a grandmother, a widow, a member of Sisters In Crime, a graduate of Marquette University. She has taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. Like Faulkner's Dilsey, she's seen the best and the worst, the first and the last. Through it all, and to understand it somewhat, she writes.

DEATH OF A SERPENT, the first in the Serafina Florio series, published January 2012. It began as a painting of the Lower East Side and wound up as a mystery story. NO MORE BROTHERS, a novella, published May 2012, the second in the Serafina Florio series. The third book, DEATH IN BAGHERIA, published in December. You can read excerpts on Amazon and on her websites, susanrussoanderson.com and writingsleuth.com

Meet Serafina Florio, a woman determined to uncover the truth. She is a widow and midwife-turned-sleuth living in nineteenth-century Sicily where she supports her seven children and catches killers against insurmountable odds.
In between writing, revising and editing, she writes for several blogs and reviews books.

Favorites:
Quote: "Everything that rises must converge." --Teilard de Chardin, S.J.

Fiction: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Wolf Hall, The Dead,
The Velveteen Rabbit, The Adventures of Augie March, As I Lay Dying,
Absalom, Absalom!, A Rose for Emily, A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Poems: Four Quartets, one circus, 3 Rings, FOREVER AND EVER, HOORAY!

Movies: When Harry Met Sally, Raging Bull, Manhattan

Composers: Brahms, Mahler, Puccini, Verdi

Authors: Hilary Mantel, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner
James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Flannery O'Connor, W.B. Yeats, Margaret Atwood
Anita Brookner, Dylan Thomas, Ann Beattie, Anne Tyler, Anne Perry, Saul Bellow
Martha Grimes, Sue Grafton, P.D. James, Richard Russo, Reginald Hill, Val McDermid
Christopher Fowler, Jacqueline Winspear, Jeffrey Deaver , Dennis Lehane, Denise Mina
John Hart, Barbara Cleverly, Joseph Pintauro, Tana French, James Wood, T.S. Eliot
and if I put them all down I'll never write

Travel Destinations:
Lower East Side, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria

Photo Credit:
Diane Flynn