The Marshal and the Madwoman

There's a wonderful sense of place in this book. Not the Florence that the tourists see, perhaps, but the Florence where the trauma of the 1966 Flood lies just below the surface and the residents face daily frustration trying to find a store open during August. The author's portrayal of the Carabineri is fairly true to what Italians might expect. The problem of turnover with young and clueless National Service recruits constantly joining the barracks (and leaving soon after they get a clue) is probably quite accurate. And it's brilliant to have a Sicilian protagonist, because he is a bit of an outsider, like the reader. I occasionally felt that the author, despite having lived in Italy, may have over-compensated or over-translated for show more British readers' sensibilities. I couldn't wrap my mind around someone giving a person's weight at 25 stones when I'd expect kilos. When I fact-checked, Italy not only had adopted the metric system by 1970, it had already been the standard for over 100 years by that point. Minor quibble. I enjoyed the book a lot, and the mystery was well done. The Marshal wasn't quick to come to the point (and who could be, in the August heat of Italy), but it was a more pleasant book that way. It would have been a keeper, but ironically, the book got forgotten outside in an unexpected thunderstorm and became as waterlogged as the books of Florence in 1966. It's a high compliment to the book that I made the effort to dry it out enough to read the last 150 pages. I also should say that it surprised me to discover that it was 6th in a series. I never felt that I came in too late and missed something, nor did the author spend time in tedious recapitulation. Unusual! show less

6th in the Marshal Guarnaccia series set in Florence, Italy.

Out giving his wife driving lessons, Guarnaccia finds himself in one of the clannier neighborhood’s in the Quarter. An old woman, clearly not entirely rational, is both tormented by and tolerated and helped by her neighbors; Guarnaccia witnesses a screaming match with one of her neighbors. After accidentally being hit in the eye by one of the crowd, Guarnaccia is helped by a friendly bar owner, Franco, who seems to know more about his neighbors than Guarnaccia can understand.

When the madwoman is murdered, Guarnaccia is puzzled, as there is no apparent reason for the crime. Depending on Franco for the information about the neighborhood and about the madwoman herself to get a show more handle on the crime, Guarnaccia starts an investigation that will need to return to the disastrous flood of 1968 to understand the motives for the crime.

Nabb’s series is superb overall; this book is a tour de force within the series. It has all of Nabb’s strengths: understated, effective writing; great characters; an excellent evocation of Florence and its inhabitants; and in this book, a powerful recounting of a tragedy that took place in the 1968 floods. In addition, in the course of his investigation, the marshal discovers the result of the 1980 Italian law that basically shut down Italy's mental institutions; the plight of the patients and the heroic efforts of a few dedicated doctors to cope despite the law are powerfully told.

The very end of the book--the last page--is totally moving.

There is no finer police procedural series that this one, that stars an overweight, inarticulate Marshal of carabinieri, his family, and his charges. The Marshal and the Madwoman is among the very best of this utterly outstanding series. Highly recommended. show less

Well played! The characters feel real, the structure is immaculate, the mystery is rolled out at just the right rate and the surprises are leavened with just the right amount of familiar normality. You finish the book feeling like they're actually all living their lives down there in Florence and wanting the best for everybody. All the best of the formula, and all the best of the non-formulaic psychological realism that the best detective novels strive for, and littie of the bad. My big complaint is really that Nabb - this is fairly early on in the series - doesn't seem to get exactly how potent a spell she's casting. The ending is a bit predictable and limp, and she has made the bed perfectly and could have accomplished something very show more much more unexpected and potent. Judging by the later book in the series that I left on the havaş to Taksim today, she got a lot more self-confident as well as a littie more franchisey later on. I am currently reading a Marshall Guarnaccia novel that is later than this one and earlier than the one I lost - maybe it'll hit that sweet spot. show less

This is the first book in this series that I have read and I felt I was starting a little behind. It seemed it was assumed the reader would already know who the Marshal was and what his position was. Only I didn’t and I had a little trouble figuring out how he fit into the Florence law enforcement structure. The beginning felt a little slow but that helped set the stage for the slow pace of all of Florence in August. There are a lot of interesting characters here and they are all written so they feel real and believable. And the Marshall becomes involved with all of them, as every witness and suspect seems to have a problem that the Marshall tries to fix even though he has a murder to solve. And as he tries to figure out who this old show more madwoman was he learns about the floods that devastated lives in years past, delves into the plight of the mentally ill and tries to work within the tight knit community that has its own rules. So the book has a lot of parts. But they are all woven in seamlessly so nothing feel extraneous or out of place and the book is about the community and the people and not just this one case. I liked the writing and the story but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the others in the series so I would know the history of the characters that I feel like I was missing. show less

The beginning of the book was a bit long and drawn out, but once we got into the tragic history of Clementina (Anna Franci) the story really picked-up.

Clementina went around the town frantically cleaning the street on a daily basis. Some days she would allow herself to be teased by the locals other days she would shout abuses at them. The people all knew her & the women looked after her by taking turns bringing her food every evening...

One evening Clementina calls the Carabineri because someone has been trying to break into her flat. The owner of the local bar goes home with her, but finds no one there.... Two days later Clementina is found dead with her head in her oven....but, there wasn't enough gas in the tank to kill a bird!

So show more Marshal Guarnaccia sets out to find the murderer. What I did find fascinating, is that the Marshal actually spoke at quite some length trying to get the henchman to talk.... He usually just ruminates and rarely says much....

I do plan on finishing the series. show less

Magdalen Nabb was another writer of mysteries set in Italy who, like Michael Dibdin, died in 2007. Her protagonist, Guarnaccia, is one of the Carabinieri, which as far as I can tell, is a quasi-military national police force; whereas Donna Leon's Brunetti is a local Venetian policeman. Guarnaccia therefore is a bit of an outsider and this makes for an interesting tale.

Loved it! Loving this series more and more as I read through them in order.