ross8002's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent and fascinating book that kept me hooked till the end.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
salreads's review against another edition
4.0
With thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for a digital copy of this book. I am a great fan of literary detectives and always ready to welcome a new detective to the genre.
‘ An English detective in Italy has certain advantages. For a start, Italians adore the British...admired them for representing everything they believe they are not: sober, pragmatic and trustworthy. ‘ Thus Benjamin establishes the credentials for his new detective, Daniel Leicester. Daniel possesses all three of those qualities: he is a widow with a young child; fluent in Italian; working in a private detective agency after years being a journalist. He is ‘a stranger in a strange land’, investigating the suspicious death of a political radical, unravelling a case deeply embroiled in politics and corrupt property dealings. Daniel is told, ‘This is not England, this is not fair play’, and indeed the novel presents an often violent and shocking picture of Italian police, politicians and civic leaders. The novel is set in Bologna and the sense of place is very powerful with extensive descriptions of the city, its buildings and infrastructure, the heavy furnishings of its dark apartments I greatly enjoyed reading A Quiet Death - there’s a pace and tension as the investigation unfolds, a powerful depiction of political corruption and a human back story of Daniel and his family building up their lives after their loss. Daniel is an interesting addition to the world of literary detectives. I particularly liked the way in tricky or dangerous situations Daniel was clearly tense or frightened and this added to the tension about how, or whether the situation would resolve. I very much hope Daniel will have another case and I do think this would be rather a good film.
‘ An English detective in Italy has certain advantages. For a start, Italians adore the British...admired them for representing everything they believe they are not: sober, pragmatic and trustworthy. ‘ Thus Benjamin establishes the credentials for his new detective, Daniel Leicester. Daniel possesses all three of those qualities: he is a widow with a young child; fluent in Italian; working in a private detective agency after years being a journalist. He is ‘a stranger in a strange land’, investigating the suspicious death of a political radical, unravelling a case deeply embroiled in politics and corrupt property dealings. Daniel is told, ‘This is not England, this is not fair play’, and indeed the novel presents an often violent and shocking picture of Italian police, politicians and civic leaders. The novel is set in Bologna and the sense of place is very powerful with extensive descriptions of the city, its buildings and infrastructure, the heavy furnishings of its dark apartments I greatly enjoyed reading A Quiet Death - there’s a pace and tension as the investigation unfolds, a powerful depiction of political corruption and a human back story of Daniel and his family building up their lives after their loss. Daniel is an interesting addition to the world of literary detectives. I particularly liked the way in tricky or dangerous situations Daniel was clearly tense or frightened and this added to the tension about how, or whether the situation would resolve. I very much hope Daniel will have another case and I do think this would be rather a good film.
laurahastoomanywips's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read, it did take me a while to get into it as it was so descriptive, perhaps due to it being set somewhere other than the easy to imagine Venice or Rome, in order to get the place/setting into mind.
The mix of murder, revenge, politics and police corruption in the past and present made an eclectic mix of threads for this novel.
You could start to see the way Italy worked differently to the UK and that corruption seemed deeply imbedded in the state structure.
Be interesting to see how the series develops.
The mix of murder, revenge, politics and police corruption in the past and present made an eclectic mix of threads for this novel.
You could start to see the way Italy worked differently to the UK and that corruption seemed deeply imbedded in the state structure.
Be interesting to see how the series develops.
intonewrealms's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you NetGalley for a reviewer copy of this book.
Dan Leicester quit his journalism job in England when print became unpopular to become a PI in Italy but when his wife died he became a single father living in her extended family compound in Bologna. The body of a radical named Paolo is found in the canal and the mayor and his party, who appeal to the wealthy who have long held power over anyone else, seem a little too hasty to classify it as an accident. Trying to discover the truth, Dan becomes enmeshed in Paolo's revolutionary group. At first they're not a fan of his background, so the main one to help him is a spirited woman called Dolores, but he's also helped along by Paolo's journal from 1979.
I only spent 24 hours in Bologna when I worked abroad in Italy, but Benjamin truly captured what I experienced there: particularly the graffiti (although I thought it sent a lot more colourful messages than he seemed to), the love for piadine (the sandwich's superior relative), the shadows cast by the two towers (which I'm devastated I didn't get to climb); the proud academic history (where Dante, Thomas Becket, William Harvey and several popes were educated). What I didn't know about was the revolutionary history of Bologna and Benjamin explored this thoroughly. We learn about communism in the past, but also the political divisions and posturing still going on across Italy. I think some of the reveals at the end became a little repetitive, the set up of the characters' names could have been done better at the beginning to make it less confusing, the heroes were a lot more morally ambiguous than the 'villains' so I wish everyone could have had shades of both, but it was great to have protaganists with dark pasts who made mistakes and were prejudiced. Overall, this book is fascinating for anyone with a little, a lot, or no knowledge of Bologna's history without isolating any audiences. As someone who hasn't read many crime novels, I can't judge whether it uses many tropes but I really admired how the victim was someone we learnt more about both from his own words and the memories of others, so we want to know what happened to him, rather than him just being a body bag.
Dan Leicester quit his journalism job in England when print became unpopular to become a PI in Italy but when his wife died he became a single father living in her extended family compound in Bologna. The body of a radical named Paolo is found in the canal and the mayor and his party, who appeal to the wealthy who have long held power over anyone else, seem a little too hasty to classify it as an accident. Trying to discover the truth, Dan becomes enmeshed in Paolo's revolutionary group. At first they're not a fan of his background, so the main one to help him is a spirited woman called Dolores, but he's also helped along by Paolo's journal from 1979.
I only spent 24 hours in Bologna when I worked abroad in Italy, but Benjamin truly captured what I experienced there: particularly the graffiti (although I thought it sent a lot more colourful messages than he seemed to), the love for piadine (the sandwich's superior relative), the shadows cast by the two towers (which I'm devastated I didn't get to climb); the proud academic history (where Dante, Thomas Becket, William Harvey and several popes were educated). What I didn't know about was the revolutionary history of Bologna and Benjamin explored this thoroughly. We learn about communism in the past, but also the political divisions and posturing still going on across Italy. I think some of the reveals at the end became a little repetitive, the set up of the characters' names could have been done better at the beginning to make it less confusing, the heroes were a lot more morally ambiguous than the 'villains' so I wish everyone could have had shades of both, but it was great to have protaganists with dark pasts who made mistakes and were prejudiced. Overall, this book is fascinating for anyone with a little, a lot, or no knowledge of Bologna's history without isolating any audiences. As someone who hasn't read many crime novels, I can't judge whether it uses many tropes but I really admired how the victim was someone we learnt more about both from his own words and the memories of others, so we want to know what happened to him, rather than him just being a body bag.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent and fascinating book that kept me hooked till the end.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
jessica_fitzhenry's review against another edition
4.0
This crime novel set in the historic city of Bologna delves deep into the gritty history of the city.
The protagonist of the story is Daniel, a former investigative journalist who now works with his father in law at the family Investigative agency. Daniel is hired by Marta, wife of the Mayor, Carlo Manzi to investigate the suspicious death of her lover Paolo Solitudine, a radical political activist.
Daniel uncovers a dangerous history, of radicalism, betrayal and police corruption.
This story started off a little slow but soon picks up with tension and plot twists. The descriptive style really makes you feel like you’re there in the ancient city. Even though there are many different characters introduced, they were all well developed and didn’t lead to any confusion.
I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more in the series. Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the digital ARC.
The protagonist of the story is Daniel, a former investigative journalist who now works with his father in law at the family Investigative agency. Daniel is hired by Marta, wife of the Mayor, Carlo Manzi to investigate the suspicious death of her lover Paolo Solitudine, a radical political activist.
Daniel uncovers a dangerous history, of radicalism, betrayal and police corruption.
This story started off a little slow but soon picks up with tension and plot twists. The descriptive style really makes you feel like you’re there in the ancient city. Even though there are many different characters introduced, they were all well developed and didn’t lead to any confusion.
I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more in the series. Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the digital ARC.
annarella's review
5.0
An excellent and fascinating book that kept me hooked till the end.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's realistic, well researched, gripping and entertaining and I was left wondering if the author lived in Bologna because the descriptions and the characters are so realistic, one of the best mystery set in Italy I read in quite a long time.
The plot is well crafted, full of twists and turns, and the characters are well thought.
I can't wait to read other books by this author and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
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