The Marshal at the Villa Torrini

Ninth in the Marshal Guarnaccia of Florence, Italy series.

The Marshal is not a happy man. While his sons are on a school skiing vacation, he decides to detoxify his liver and go on a diet. The Marshal, a large man who appreciates his food, is having “table withdrawal symptoms”, and is grumpy, alarming his new driver and has the rest of the carabinieri at the Pitti Palace raising their eyebrows and rolling their eyes.

The Marshal answers a call about a death at the Villa Torrini, located on the outskirts of Florence. An attractive Englishwoman, a successful writer, has been found dead in her bath, a seeming accident--yet there is no clue as to how she died, nothing but a small amount of water in her lungs, not enough for drowning. Her show more husband, Julian Forbes, lies in the next room, dead drunk. The Marshal, who takes an instant dislike to the husband, who, even after sobering up, shows every sign of guilt but there is no evidence to tie him to his wife’s death--only the Marshal’s intuition. He feels handicapped, however, in any investigation, sure that Forbes is far too clever for him, and will outwit him; he wants to turn the investigation over to Captain Maestrangelo or some other “educated" police officer, and does not understand why Maestrangelo and Substitute Prosecutor Fusarri (in a return engagement complete with cigars) have such faith in him.

This installment in the series depends for its impact not so much on the plot, which is very good, but on the human factors in the story line. Primary among these is the Marshal himself and his struggle with his diet. There is a hilarious scene when, while trying to read about the new legal system, he becomes so hungry after his meager, healthy dinner that he makes and eats four sandwiches--and suffers through the night for it. I laughed at loud at this scene, having done exactly the same thing myself (though not to the extent of four sausage sandwiches, however).

The other source is the events that led up to the death; revealed in a satisfying denouement, they are tragic, affecting the Marshal even more than usual.

An excellent story, depending far more on the players involved than on the police procedural part. Nabb’s understated writing and superb characterizations of the Marshal and his supporting cast of characters--his second in command Lorenzini, his young driver Fara, his wife Teresa, Captain Maestrangelo, and the ebullient substitute Prosecutor Fusarri within his blue cloud of cigar smoke--are excellent. It’s her usual fine job.

Highly recommended. show less

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Odd little tale.

I haven't read anything by Nabb before and had not heard of her.

The Marshal is almost always referred to as "the marshal" in the book, rather than by his first or last name. That gives the story a funny kind of edge.

The Marshal is called to the scene of a death: Celia Forbes, a respected, well-known writer is found dead in her bath. Her husband is found in a room nearby, drunk and out of control. There are no signs that the victim was held under water or of any force used at all, yet the Marshal suspects murder. And he suspects the husband. It is logical, given that the man is not grieving, is quite a bit younger than his wife, has show more a woman on the side, loves spending money yet makes none. The victim was well-off financially.

Another odd side: Celia has a daughter. She has been staying with someone else and it appears that there is no love between her and her stepfather. Does this play into it?

At times the story seems to move jerkily. We are in a courtroom hearing another case or we jump from one location to another. Almost as if Nabb was too impatient to fill in the blanks. Otherwise it was easy enough to follow. And reasonably entertaining. Good airplane reading. show less