Roberto Perrone (1957–2023)

It’s been decades since Annibale Canessa and his brother Napoleone have last talked. Now, the later has been killed, together with Giuseppe Petri, former member of the Camorra and serial killer. Annibale quit his job as Carabiniere after his biggest success because it was obvious to him that he could only get one fish at the time, but police as well as jurisdiction were full of people collaborating with the mafia and far from providing justice. But now, he has to act since it is obvious show more that the murder of his brother will not be cleared up by official institutions. Together with his former colleagues, Canessa goes on a mission which is bloody and which will stir up dirt. A lot of things have changed since the 70s and 80s when Italy was in the hands of the criminal organisations, but unluckily not all.

Roberto Perrone is an Italian journalist and writer who amongst other wrote the biography pf Gianluigi Buffin, the famous goalkeeper. “The Second Life of Inspector Canessa” is the first instalment of the Annibale Canessa series which strongly reminded me of the “Mani Pulite” investigations of the 1990s when masses of crimes of industry leaders and politicians were exposed and the corrupt system uncovered resulting in the end of the Prima Repubblica.

Annibale has to start his investigation from scratch, neither has he an idea why his brother was killed or why he was together with the former camorrista nor does he dispose of any means to investigate. He only has his sharp mind, two loyal former colleagues and Carla, a journalist not only eager to collaborate but also attractive. They uncover several leads which do not add up, more people die and also the small group is attacked. Quite obviously, nobody wants them to dig deeper, not the police, not the jurisdiction, not the mafia. But Annibale has not only lost his brother, he has strong conviction which he follows.

A complex and suspenseful thriller which is totally entertaining but also disillusioning – it does not take much to imagine that all this could be true. show less

My first taste of Italian Crime fiction certainly won’t be the last! Roberto Perrone’s The Second Life of Inspector Canessa, ably translated by Hamish Goslow, is a highly entertaining crime-action thriller set in the early third millennium with strong connections to the turbulent 1970s.

Annibale Canessa—termed as a cross between Rambo and Terminator by an admirer—is a national hero who played a stellar role in ending the terrorism during the political turmoil of the seventies, known show more as Years of Lead. Disillusioned by the state of affairs just after the end of his war on terror, he has retired from service while still in his thirties and, after almost thirty years, is spending his time in a popular tourist spot helping his aunt run a restaurant. His idyll is rudely interrupted when his estranged younger brother is brutally murdered in Milan alongside a ruthless killer—an ex-terrorist—from the past whose capture was a high point in Canessa’s anti-terrorism career. Canessa has to come out of his retirement and track down his innocent brother’s killers, and unearth the connection between his brother and his companion-in-death. The enemies he faces now are far different from the ones he had faced during his fighting days—they are people with power, ready to kill anyone just to keep the secrets buried. Canessa isn’t without his share of supporters; his assistant from the old days, people who owe him favours, and a number of admirers in awe of his past heroics help him along in his fight.

The narrative switches back and forth in time and is gripping in the way the mystery unfolds bit by bit. Canessa, in spite of his age, gets to seduce women half his age. And he is not the only one having fun; several other characters, equal to or older than Canessa in age enjoy the carnal pleasures—mostly with far younger partners—a lot! Perrone’s characters come in all shades of grey, and it is fascinating to watch them in action. The descriptions of places, persons and the violent action are vivid. Perrone paints an authentic picture of Milan in its various garbs, though I don’t know enough to comment. Being uneducated about the Italian politics and its recent history, and without any idea about the various law enforcement agencies of Italy, I had some trouble in grasping the plot initially and had to reread several portions. But, once the action got up and running, the reading became easier and the pages started to fly.

To sum up, The Second Life of Inspector Canessa is a perfect blend of action, mystery, sex (a bit more than necessary, in my opinion) and good old crime that is sure to entertain fans of crime fiction irrespective of their nationality. Pushkin Press and Walter Presents have done an immense service to the reading community by making this exciting fiction available to readers worldwide, and I thank netgalley.com for the opportunity to read this ARC and review it! show less

My first taste of Italian Crime fiction certainly won’t be the last! Roberto Perrone’s The Second Life of Inspector Canessa, ably translated by Hamish Goslow, is a highly entertaining crime-action thriller set in the early third millennium with strong connections to the turbulent 1970s.

Annibale Canessa—termed as a cross between Rambo and Terminator by an admirer—is a national hero who played a stellar role in ending the terrorism during the political turmoil of the seventies, known show more as Years of Lead. Almost thirty years after his early retirement, he lives in a popular tourist spot helping his aunt run a restaurant. His idyll is rudely interrupted when his estranged younger brother is brutally murdered in Milan alongside an ex-terrorist from the past whom Canessa had captured in 1984. Now, Canessa has to come out of his retirement and track down his innocent brother’s killers, and unearth the connection between his brother and his companion-in-death. The enemies he faces now are far different from the ones he had faced during his fighting days—they are people with power, ready to kill anyone just to keep the secrets buried. In this fight, Canessa is helped by his assistant from the old days, some people who owe him favours, and a number of admirers in awe of his past heroics.

The narrative switches back and forth in time and is gripping in the way the mystery unfolds bit by bit. Canessa, in spite of his age, gets to seduce women half his age. Not only he, but several other characters of similar age enjoy the carnal pleasures—mostly with far younger partners—a lot, too. Perrone’s characters come in all shades of grey, and it is fascinating to watch them in action. The descriptions of places, persons and the violent action are vivid. Perrone paints an authentic picture of Milan in its various garbs, though I don’t know enough to comment. Being uneducated about the Italian politics and its recent history, and without any idea about the various law enforcement agencies of Italy, I had some trouble in grasping the plot initially and had to reread several portions. But, once the action got up and running, the reading became easier and the pages started to fly.

To sum up, The Second Life of Inspector Canessa is a perfect blend of action, mystery, sex (a bit more than necessary, in my opinion) and good old crime that is sure to entertain fans of crime fiction irrespective of their nationality, and I would rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

I reviewed an ARC of this book for netgalley.com. Here's the link to the original review https://www.netgalley.com/book/206574/review/670189 show less

Loved it!

I am really getting into crime /detective / thriller / noir fiction set outside of the standard locations of the UK and USA. And this one by Perrone is no exception to the great books I have been reading.

The synopsis covers it all: retired cop returns to avenge the killing of his estranged brother and work out the link with acts of terrorism from thirty years previous, and hence the back and forth with the timeline.

We are introduced to a number of characters early on, and it is only show more as we slowly progress, does their relevance to the narrative become apparent (I kept a list to keep track!). Many of these are not nice folks - and that is the aim of the author, I think, to provide varying shades of good and bad (and some downright evil), with which to demonstrate the blurred lines and vagaries of what is right and what is just. Even Canessa himself reminds me of "Dirty Harry" - a no-nonsense, ultimately good guy, who believes that if you shake the tree hard enough, the rotten fruit will eventually fall.

As I mentioned, I loved it. For me, it had all the required elements: crime, mystery, passion, power, corruption, secrets, revenge, intriguing characters, action, resolution. show less