MAGDALEN NABB – The Marshal and the Murderer. Charles Scribner’s Sons, hardcover, 1988. UK edition: Collins Crime Club, hc, 1987. Paperback reprint: Penguin, 1988. Trade paperback: Soho Press, 2003.

Genre:   Police procedural. Series character:   Marshal Guarnaccia, 5th in series. Setting:   Florence, Italy.

First Sentence: “Well, I hope I haven’t taken up too much of your time…”

   A very shy young Swiss woman asks the help of Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia. Her roommate and friend, who has been studying pottery making in a small village outside Florence, has gone missing. With the help of the local marshal, Niccolini, Guarnaccia must uncover the secrets of the town and its history to solve the crime.

   With each book, I come to like this series more. But I think my reticence was more my fault than the author’s. I started out comparing Nabb to Donna Leon, which isn’t fair as they are very different writers.

   I also didn’t understand the structure of the Italian police forces, and I do fault Nabb for not clarifying that. Once I rectified those two things, I find Nabb has created a protagonist who has really grown on me.

   The Marshal doesn’t consider himself to be smart and that he seems to be half-asleep on his feet. Although not in a Sherlock Holmes manner, he observes, considers and puts the information together in his own time.

   He is big, clumsy, and allergic to the sun, loves his family but is accustomed to living on his own, and I think he’s a great character. However, it was fun, in this book, to see him working with Marshal Niccolini, who is hyperactive and, therefore, a delightful contrast.

   In considering the various aspects of Nabb’s writing, although I do wish Nabb provided a stronger sense of place, I cannot fault her voice and dialogue. She has a subtle humor which offsets some of the darkness to the story, and her dialogue has a very natural flow. Even when she doesn’t identify the speaker with each sentence, you know who is speaking. Not every author accomplishes this.

   What I particularly liked was the plot. What starts as a “simple” disappearance and murder, leads to something much larger and darker, involving more than just the victim and the killer.

   Nabb utilizes the theme of the sins of the father; “…I always hated that idea but when you think about it in concrete terms it isn’t a moral condemnation, just an observation of fact.” There is a well-done twist to the plot and an excellent, albeit somewhat sad, end.

   Only the inclusion of a portent has dropping my rating from being “excellent” to “very good plus,” but I do highly recommend it.

Rating: Very Good Plus.


Editorial Comment: There are 14 books in Magdalen Nabb’s Marshal Guarnaccia series, the last appearing posthumously in 2008, a year after her untimely death. A death notice for the author appeared here earlier on this blog, along with a complete list of all her mystery fiction.