Susan Russo Anderson

Thanks to a good mystery, a fast-flowing narrative, a likable protagonist and so much Brooklyn atmosphere you can almost taste the hot dogs and smell the cannelloni, the inaugural entry in the Fina Fitzgibbons mystery series is a real winner. Susan Russo Anderson manages to avoid the pitfalls so endemic to the mystery sub-genre of female detectives by using an even-handed approach. Never does she allow the narrative to waver at any length from the mystery in favor of what I call, show more chick-fluff, nor does she paint the female protagonist as the typical tougher-than-the-boys PI. Fina is young, pretty, capable but not invincible. She has issues relating to her mother's death, but is not wrapped up in neurosis. She refreshingly has a boyfriend who is a good guy, rather than the crappy ex so prevalent in this sub-genre of mystery. Fina has a cleaning business she prefers to hang on to, which I also find to be a welcome aside, showing a bit of balance to the character. Fina prefers not to carry, which I can only assume is a trademark of the series, leaving the gun violence to the surrounding cast of characters.

Speaking of the supporting cast, I found them to be likable as well, and enjoyed my time with them. Her best friend Cookie is in college and smart as a whip, which of course makes her love-life a disaster. Again, the author doesn't dwell on this constantly, it is simply a fabric of Fina's world woven into the tapestry of the mystery. Her boyfriend Denny is a cop, and a good guy; so good in fact, he wants to marry Fina. When we meet what might have been an adversary in Detective Jane Templeton, someone with whom Fina has had issues with on a previous case, the author refreshingly alters their relationship during the course of the investigation. The dynamic of their relationship gradually becomes one of cooperation and respect. The mystery gets going when a body is dumped on Fina's steps, mirroring her mother's demise, but soon becomes a desperate search for a kidnapped child.

Susan Russo Anderson allows the mystery to be the thing here, and Too Quiet in Brooklyn is all the better for it. Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote that easy reading was darn - darn was not the word he used - hard writing. It is obvious that great care was taken to make this a fast, fun read, while also making it a good mystery. It is obvious in that the effort is invisible, as it should be. The painting of Brooklyn is wonderful, colorfully woven deftly into the narrative. While I am not usually a fan of portions told from the perp's perspective, the author gets the flow and rhythm just right in these sections, keeping them brief enough, and interesting enough so that the reader doesn't become too impatient to get back to Fina and the gang.

Not too gritty, yet not too fluffy, this mystery is the smell of cordite mingling with the sights and sounds of Brooklyn. Fina gets some closure concerning her mother's death before Too Quiet in Brooklyn is all over, which bodes well for the next entry in the series. Some business with a feather duster near the end strained credulity for me, muting a tense moment, but it is a minor caveat perhaps not shared by other readers. The story-line was wrapped up nicely, while opening a door for further excursions to Brooklyn with Fina and her pals, to which I'm looking forward. show less

With finely written prose rich in historical imagery, sound and other sense details of 1800s Sicily, Death of a Serpent was reminiscent of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon for this reader.

Recently widowed Serafina is a determined sleuth, adept at solving other people’s problems, which sometimes causes her to neglect her own family issues. She is called on by her good friend Rosa, the successful owner of a high class brothel, to investigate the murders of several of her prostitutes. Why are the show more women being killed? Is it the local Don, a mysterious monk, or a former lover of Serafina? And how soon will the killers hands turn to Serafina and her family, especially as her estranged daughter may be within the killer’s sights?

The characters of Serafina, Rosa—the brothel owner, Scarpo—the brothels chief bodyguard and Inspector Colonna—the incompetent chief of police, are well realised and believable.

As the story reaches its climax, the two strands, that involving the investigation into the murders and Serafina’s struggle to reconcile with her daughter, are brought crashing together…

At times I would have liked the “pearls in the oyster of each scene” (1) to have been bigger and clearer, in other words, the beautiful atmosphere and setting of some scenes—the meat of the oyster—far outweighed the dramatic plot event that occurred (discoveries, decisions, responses, changes—the pearls), making it difficult to keep track of them (or maybe my memory is going). But that apart, this is a well written book with a likeable character in Serafina.

If you like fine writing with well researched historical details, then this book will be a feast for your senses. show less

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the idea of A woman "Rosa" employing prostitutes was unique normally it's a guy in this role, but this drew me into the story by it's differences then other books:) I enjoyed all the "drama" between the girls in the book. I loved the fact that this book showed just how women can also fit into male roles as well as males like being pimps and solving murders!:) I love Europe and I visited once and I really thought the plot was well thought out and I loved show more It! I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars, and would have been 5 of 5 if there had just been some more details about the characters and much more interaction with characters not being in the role of main characters, but it's still just a great read!!! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves murder/mystery genres. show less

Serafina Florio – mother, widow and midwife – has been summoned by her life-long best friend to the scene of a murder. Her friend, Rosa, owns a bordello. This victim is the third of Rosa’s prostitutes to be killed. And the murders have all happened on the doorstep of Rosa’s business. Rosa asks Serafina to find the killer before any more of her girls are killed and her business is ruined. Is this about ruining Rosa, or is a serial killer on the loose?

The plot is interesting, the show more investigation proceeds logically, both of the main characters are strong women, and the ending is a surprise. I found it somewhat difficult to read, though. At times, the story was disjointed, with sequences starting halfway through an event in the story, or characters performing actions presented as being significantly different from earlier actions but no earlier actions were presented. At times, the grammatical structure was awkward, reading as if it were a translation that did not fit English well at all.

While a number of the characters were fairly well developed, others - primarily, the two main characters - had holes in their roles in the story. Serafina seems to have a reputation for solving mysteries, but no background on this aspect is given. Throughout the book, Serafina and Rosa have a stormy relationship, to the point where one might often wonder if they are best friends or best enemies. Serafina is justifiably grief-stricken and angry, but comes across more flat and cold than having any warmth or likability. Rosa’s greed is palpable, and she, like Serafina, lacks warmth and likability. This was very disappointing, since they are the main characters, and I wanted to like them.

From the title, this appears to be the possible beginning of a series. While this is not a book I would recommend, the setting is interesting and the characters could be very engaging in future installments. Serafina Florio may reappear. I hope so. show less