Death of an Englishman

A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation

By: Magdalen Nabb

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

The debut of Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri, a Sicilian, stationed in Florence. It is just before Christmas and the marshal wants to go South to spend the holiday with his wife and family, but first he must recover from the flu (which has left the Florentine caribinieri short-handed) and also solve a murder.

A seemingly respectable retired Englishman, living in a flat on the Via Maggio near the Santa Trinita bridge, was shot in the back during the night. He was well-connected, and Scotland Yard has despatched two officers to "assist" the Italians in solving the crime. But it is the marshal, a quiet observer, not an intellectual, who manages to figure out what happened, and why.

In addition to the wonderful atmosphere of Florence, Magdalen Nabb has created a delightful investigator who has been described as "the most Maigret-like of contemporary policemen" by the Times Literary Supplement.

©2001 Magdalen Nabb (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Boring

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story was fair. This was supposed to be a story about Marshal Guarnaccia, but the protagonist was his bumbling assistant. Not worth the time. Very trite and the Italian setting seemed forced.

How could the performance have been better?

A little hard to understand.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Did like the English investigators.

Thin Plot

I love British mysteries and thrillers. This isn't one to recommend. Other than a feable attempt at humor - i.e. a main character names Carabinieri Baci (means kiss), there was an irritating cast of characters and nothing to really wonder about.