Bellissimo e imperdibile. ( )

Como siempre, un poquito pillada por los pelos la trama policiaca, aunque lo compensa con la poesía que pone en las descripciones y el cariño hacia sus personajes. Acabas con el corazón en un puño por este comisario tan doliente, pero con un resquicio de esperanza para el siguiente título. ( )

Commissario Ricciardi, a compulsively private man, is haunted by his the ability to see and hear the dead repeating their final moments. He still lives with his “Tata” Rosa, who has cared for him since he was a baby. He feels a romantic attachment to Enrica, a young woman he admires from afar and is too shy to talk to. Meanwhile, Livia Vezzi, a beautiful and wealthy widow, has moved to Naples and is pursuing Ricciardi.

Along with his loyal colleague, Brigidiar Maione, they investigate the murder of a little orphan boy, Matteo, found dead on the steps of the Tondo di Capodimonte staircase, still guarded by his small dog. Called Tette because he stutters so badly he can't pronounce his own name, he has found shelter in the back room of a church, along with six bullies who constantly torment him. Hungry and alone, his only friend is the small dog. Ricciardi knows something is wrong with the boy's apparent death and decides to take some vacation time to investigate.

This was my very favorite of the four Commissario Ricciardi books I've read, even though it was breathtakingly sad on so many levels. The author intersperses flashbacks that reveal Tette's life, leading up to his death. This technique had such a powerful impact because we know from the first pages that Tette is dead. I know very little about the rise of fascism and Mussolini in the early 1930s but the author does a fantastic job of giving the reader a feel for the people gripped in political repression and economic depression. There is no humor in this book. With starving children as a major character, we are filled with overwhelming sadness as we hurtle towards the devastating conclusion.

I'm happy to report that this isn't the final book of the seasonally based Commissario Ricciardi series. Next up.......Viper, No Resurrection for Commissario Ricciardi, one of the most fascinating characters I've ever met. ( )

Recensione su : http://wp.me/p3X6aw-2B ( )