Claudio Falco

I'm a big fan of Maurizio de Giovanni's crime novels and the second volume of the Giuseppe Lojacono series also gripped me from the first to the last page.
The Pizzofalcone police station is in danger of being disbanded. The most 'hated' officers from various police stations in Naples are transferred to this police station. What nobody thinks is possible is that this conspiratorial squad can get together and solve unsolvable cases.
The wife of a notary is found dead in her flat. All the evidence points to the notary and his mistress. Only Inspector Lojacono doubts it. But finding the real murderer seems to be a sisifus job. At the same time, an old woman reports the new occupant of the neighbouring house. Is she being held captive there? This case also seems to be tricky, but the two new ruffians at the police station have a good feeling and are able to solve this mystery too. There are also various 'suicides' that the station's oldest policeman refuses to believe in. And last but not least, there is Lojacono's love and family life, where things don't seem to be moving forward either.… (more)

I've read with great pleasure all the Commissario Ricciardi books, but had not tried one of these. Somehow I thought they would be dark, violent, Godfather-ish thrillers. To my happy surprise, this is not that, but rather a classy, engaging ensemble police procedural (my favorite crime genre) - a south Italian "nero," which reminded me of Department Q or the Martin Beck series. A Neapolitan police precinct has come under disgrace for top-to-bottom corruption, and is being considered for closure. Instead, a charismatic commissioner assembles a team of cops from other precincts, all of whom, for various reasons, are cops those precincts are only too happy to be rid of. Each has his or her own back story, character flaws, or quirks, making for a challenging and difficult team exercise. The investigation into the murder of the wife of a socially prominent notary is the test to see whether this trial precinct will succeed or fail. It trots right along, with some intriguing side stories and characters who we might hope will emerge in their own right in subsequent books in the series. The only thing that kept this one from a fourth star is the way the reveal of the murderer is handled - the cops suddenly figure out who it is, but the reader is kept in the dark about the details till the confession is obtained, even as De Giovanni has used one of his favored techniques of scattered italicized soliloquies from that person's point of view throughout the book. Still, I enjoyed this a lot and have pulled its introductory volume, Crocodile from the library. I am looking forward to the rest.… (more)

Thanks to OliverMagnus for his earlier review. He is right about the rich development of many characters. In addition to the unfolding story of whodunnit, there is the story of a group of characters all labeled misfits by their former colleagues who nonetheless come together as a team. That is an oft told tale but De Giovanni is a master and it is told with a fresh eye, not coming within a mile of a cliche. There is also a tale of the city which respects the power, allure and dangers that are part of the cityscape told by someone who knows it well.

And OliverMagnus' comment that the story reminded him of Ed McBain's New York Precinct shows that he has a discerning eye. In the Acknowledgment section at the end of the book McBain is mentioned as the 'unparalleled master.' One can only hope that De Giovanni can continue to crank them out the way the 'master' did.… (more)