Book Review: Some Bitter Taste

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Some Bitter Taste     Amazon US HC Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada HC
Magdalen Nabb
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Marshal Guarnaccia
...

The twelfth in the delightful Marshal Guarnaccia series - set in Florence featuring a military policeman stationed near the Pitti Palace in the center of the tourist attractions. All of Nabb's books in this series are quite atmospheric of Italy, Florence in particular, and feature a delightful protagonist - a shrewd observer of human behavior and personal interaction, who often is puzzled and confused as he habitually doesn't understand the meaning of his observations.

In this small, tidy book - an elderly spinster appeals to the Marshal for assistance with her fears of being watched and stalked. A group of Albanian refugees - young women working as prostitutes, a former medical student serving an elderly expatriate Englishman as a personal attendant, and a ring of petty criminals also vie for the Marshal's attention. Add to the mix a series of small thefts at the home of the elderly Englishman, and the Marshal has too many distractions to enable him to deal with the spinster's fears in a timely fashion. When he returns to inquire more about her concerns, he finds her dead near the front door of her apartment.

Very tightly plotted, the smallest detail becomes important as the story unfolds.

Nabb's books are always first rate.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM