Sandrone Dazieri

I have had this book in my tbr pile since its paperback release on the 10th August 2017 and it is now the 26th July 2018 so I am really late getting to it but, “better late than never” as the saying goes and now i just want to kick my own arse for leaving it so long!! However, on the plus side, I don’t have to wait a year for the second book in the series – Kill the Angel, which was published on the 3rd May 2018. The wait would have been pretty shite due to the cliff-hanger of an show more ending!

I purchased the second book whilst half way through this one as it was so good, it is by far one of my top reads of 2018 so far.

The two main characters, Deputy Police Commissioner Colomba Caselli and Dante Torre were equally brilliant, not always likeable but very memorable and I can’t wait to find out where they are now after such a devastating case and by the sounds of it they are about to be thrown back into another grizzly case. The only slight issue I found was that I struggled with some of the other minor characters names, there are two names that were very similar but polar opposites of characters so a few times i was trying to work out why the good guy was with the bad guys!! But I should imagine that it’s just me and my inability to remember people’s names!

There are some fairly gruesome scenes in parts but not over the top gore fest but I honestly think that makes Kill the Father such a standout novel balancing out the police procedurals, back story and character building. But I do love a good gory serial killer thriller 🙂

I am going to keep this review fairly brief as I NEED to get stuck into book two asap!!

So to summarise – A brilliant fast paced crime thriller with plenty of twists and turns that simply don’t let up. And the old cliche genuinely applied to this book, I honestly couldn’t put it down! (I am writing this at 04:25am because i had to finish the book!)

I cant recommend it enough and i can see why it was a Richard and Judy 2017 Bookclub pick. If you are a fan of this genre you won’t want to miss this one, if it’s still in your tbr pile I’d suggest moving it right to the top of it!! show less

Weighing in at over five hundred pages, Kill the Father could have used some judicious trimming, but the two main characters are so mesmerizing and the story so convoluted and compelling that the book's length was something I had to admit was a minor quibble. If you're looking for a mystery filled with the food and wine and ambiance of Italy, look elsewhere. Kill the Father is tough and gritty and all about character and story. The mystery keeps readers off-balance with its twists and turns show more that are all based on a real-life event. Just as you think you know what's going on, you hit a speed bump, get tossed into the air, and find yourself landing and heading off in another direction. (Prepare yourself for several "speed bumps".) I love stories that can keep me guessing, and this one certainly does.

What raises this book up to a whole different level is its characterizations. Caselli and Torre are two very flawed people, but they are also very strong, very intelligent, and very determined. With the horror of his childhood, Torre often takes center stage and rightly so. As the investigation progresses, Torre has to confront his past and wonder if what he remembers is really what happened or if he has false memories. It's been a long time since I've been so impressed with two characters as I am with Caselli and Torre.

One warning for potential readers: If you really can't stomach any harm coming to children, you might want to skip several paragraphs from time to time or decide not to read the book at all. I will say that the scenes are not graphic and that they really serve to illuminate Torre's character.

The third book in the series, Kill the King, will be released in May. I already have the second, Kill the Angel and am fighting the urge to dive right in. When you find the right combination of story and character, it's magic, and in the case of Caselli and Torre, Sandrone Dazieri is the magician. show less

Este libro es tan bueno que no se ni por donde comenzar.

Así de bueno es, la prosa del escritor es excelsa, la narrativa impecable, la forma de llevar la historia impresionante, vaya que ni un pero, no le sobra nada ni le falta nada, son de esas historias que son un circulo perfecto.

Estoy realmente impresionada con el autor, si pudiera conocerlo le daría las gracias por haber escrito algo como esto, no solo es la historia, entiendanme, es la forma de contarla.

Colomba esta de excedencia de show more la policía de homicidios por un accidente que ella llama "El Desastre", pero su ex jefe, Rovere la busca para pedirle de favor que de manera extra curricular investigue la desaparición de un niño.

La madre del niño fue encontrada asesinada y se culpa al marido y se asume que el padre, que tenía antecedentes de maltrato, también asesino al niño e hizo desparecer el cuerpo.

Rovere le pide a Colomba que busque a un especialista en encontrar niños perdidos, Dante Torre.

Dante Torre, es un hombre de 42 años, quien fue secuestrado a los 6 años y logra escapar de su cautiverio 11 años después, por lo tanto tiene muchos problemas psicológicos, el que mas es su marcada claustrofobia.

Dante estuvo cautivo esos once años en un Silo, por lo tanto se le conoce como el niño del Silo.

Como les explico todo lo que este personaje me hizo sentir, un hombre con un sentido del humor único, lleno de problemas, que describe como le es imposible relacionarse con los demás por que sus años mas importantes solo se relaciono con su secuestrador al que llama "El Padre" que lo maltrataba, pero al que él llego a amar en un sentido de amor/odio que duele; que colecciona todo lo que puede de esos 11 años perdidos, desde juguetes, música, peliculas, libros, todo lo que el no vivió y que además debido a ese aislamiento tiene una capacidad de empatía con los niños, ya sea para demostrar que son manipulados para declarar cosas que no son (como abusos sexuales) hasta encontrarlos si desaparecen y también una manera muy particular de leer a las personas, no puede relacionarse con ellas, pero con solo los movimientos, sus caras, sus movimientos, puede entenderlos, comprenderlos.

Es doloroso vivir este personaje, pero al mismo tiempo, no puedes dejar de admirarlo, de admirar su tenacidad, su sentido del humor, su lenguaje, la forma en que se siente atraído por Colomba, es como un niño grande, que no puede vivir sin medicamentos para bajar sus niveles de ansiedad, con "n" mil comportamientos extraños, pero entendibles, vaya que si son entendibles!

Colomba tiene sus propios demonios, debido a El Desastre, esta pensando en renunciar a su carrera en la policía y además tiene constantes ataques de pánico, tiene problemas con otros ex compañeros del trabajo y tiene un carácter espantoso.

Pero esta mancuerna, nos hace vivir una historia, escalofriante, llena de situaciones que nos estremecen, en la carrera por encontrar al secuestrador de un niño, una cacería a un depredador como pocos y que en el proceso de encontrarlo les puede costar la carrera profesional y la vida.

Un libro que nos entrega una historia única, que disfrute desde la primera hasta la última página, no podía soltarlo, en ningún momento menguo el suspenso, pero además conocí a dos personas entrañables que hacen una mancuerna poco común pero que se complementan de manera que te sientes parte de ellos.

MUY, MUY RECOMENDABLE, DE LOS QUE NO SE DEBEN PERDER show less

This intricate Italian thriller introduces one of the oddest couples in crime fiction. Neither one is a poster child for mental health and with good reason. The real question lurking behind their present case is not whether they’ll get their man but if they can survive what they discover.

Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli is officially on leave. She was a rising star in Rome’s major crimes unit until “the Disaster”. Now she’s trying to decide whether she still wants to be a cop & her show more panic attacks might be a sign it’s time for a career change.
Dante Torre is a bit of a train wreck. But after being abducted as a child & squirrelled away in an abandoned silo for 11 years, who can blame him. That would give anyone a few ticks. More than 30 years later, he struggles with social skills & crippling claustrophobia. The experience left him with an uncanny ability to “read” people through their every glance, word, tone & gesture. Now he makes his living as a human lie detector for select clients.

Then another little boy goes missing. Chief Alfredo Rovere hears of the puzzling case & has his doubts about the cop leading the investigation. He contacts Colomba & asks her to discretely look into the death of a woman whose 6 year old son has vanished. There’s just one catch….she must convince Dante to help her.

And they’re off. Right from the start, you crave information about these characters & their pasts. They’re well defined & through the effective use of flashbacks we learn what happened to turn them both into fragile yet resilient people. They’re surrounded by a large cast & it’s clear some have private agendas. At times, we know more than Colomba & Dante & this adds to the rising tension.

The pace picks up considerably in the second half as Colomba & Dante race around Italy trying to stay one step ahead of a shadowy figure known as the Father. The author does a great job of providing a slow drip of clues that reveal & misdirect, leading to some surprising twists. One of my pet peeves is when a major revelation comes out of the blue. It leaves me feeling cheated because I never had a chance to suss it out. That’s not the case here. There are several jaw droppers along the way but the hints were all there & I just missed their significance. Well done, Mr Dazieri.

The literal sprint to the finish leaves you reeling as the pieces all fit together to reveal the horrific scale of everything that’s happened. It’s a compulsive read with an intriguing couple I hope we’ll see again.
Kudos to Antony Shugaar whose translation provides a smooth narrative that allows the characters to shine. show less