Customer Reviews

A Walk in the Dark

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A Walk in the Dark
Gianrico Carofiglio
Bitter Lemon, Oct 2006, $14.95
ISBN: 1904738176

In Bari, Italy, defense lawyer Avvocato Guido Guerrieri earns a living providing legal council to petty criminals; his business depends on returning customers as most of his clients are repeat offenders. However, for whatever reason deep in his pyche, Guido has a soft spot for the underdog especially abused females so at times he will take on impossible cases.

This is one of those times when Guerrieri turns champion because to his chagrin he is immediately attracted to Sister Claudia, director of Safe House, who asks him to help one of her volunteers now hiding at the shelter. The woman moved in with a wealthy Prince Charming who turned into an abusive beast. He beat her in public twice and in private several times. Because of his connections, the carabineri, the police and a judge deny the woman's plea for protection from his harming her. Two lawyers have said no, but Guerrieri agrees to take on the case of protecting the ex girlfriend Martina Fumai, Sistaer Claudia and the shelter from Ernesto Scaianatico, son of of a criminal appeals court judge. However, Guido will learn the hard way why his peers said no.

This terific legal thriller stars a fascinating protagonist who normally is indifferent and bumbling when it comes to his typical clients; however some cases fire up his inner gut turning him into a capable caring attorney and much more. Guido's two capers (see INVOLUNTARY WITNESS) are legal noirs as he struggles to insure his clients remain safe against powerful adversaries who use money and abuse of power to insure victory over justice. Gianrico Carofiglio provides a terific Italian thriller

Harriet Klausner

This is tightly-plotted tale of underdog revenge with wonderful characters--Sister Claudia, please watch my back--in just 215 pages. I read it in a night, then re-read it a few days later to clear up some of the moral ambiguities, because everyone, even protagonist lawyer Guerrieri, has to work through some murk. I'm still thinking, but this is a police novel in the tradition of Simenon's Maigret novels and Duerrenmatt's The Judge and His Hangman. A terrific read.

"A Walk in the Dark" is a taut, well-constructed crime story, written by a former Italian prosecutor, that opens a window on the considerable problems in the Italian legal and juridical systems. This is a common theme in Italian crime writing, but "A Walk..." has the feel of an original. The book is set in the southern Italian port city of Bari and features protagonist Guido Guerrieri, a principled and well-respected lawyer who is known to take on lost causes. Guerrieri has some major personal issues that are well-told parts of the story.

In "Walk in the Dark," Guerrieri represents a woman with a complaint against the son of a senior Bari judge. It's a case that is definitely not a career enhancing assignment and one that turns out to be dangerous as well.

While the book's plot is somewhat classic and not overly-ambitious, the great strength of the story is in the interaction between its characters, each one of which is well-developed and credible. There is some real challenge, as well as enjoyment, here for the reader. This is a book that transcends the mystery genre, approaching literature.

Author Gianrico Carofiglio's wonderful writing is well served by an excellent translation by Howard Curtis. Highly recommended.

This is just another OK Italian thriller. In the last few years I have seen in bookshops - and, in some cases, read - many similar thrillers by Italian authors. They all are a bit the same, especially those from authors from Southern Italy. They all try to picture their own cities as exotic (see for example the attempt by Carofiglio to depict Bari as a sophisticated city with a thriving cultural life), but, at least in the eyes of us Italians, such attempts appear a bit pathetic, as we know that most places in Southern Italy are just mafia-plagued and provincial. Another characteristic of this new wage of Italian thriller authors is that they like themselves a great deal. In fact, their wanna-be introspection ends up appearing just like self-celebration, and, unfortunately, the main character of this book is not immune from this. Another annoying aspect is the author's inclination to throw about subplots that the reader expect to be eventually connected to the main story, but...they just don't (for example the chapter about the suicide of the protagonist's old and long lost friend Emilio). Don't get me wrong, I spent a pleasant evening reading this book (which is very short), but the moment I finished it and put it on the shelf I was already sure that I would not have given it a thought again.