Tod In Verona

Inspector Peroni Mystery #1

by Timothy Holme

Achille Peroni, Polizist in Verona, versucht das mysteriöse Verschwinden eines Faschisten aufzuklären und gerät dabei selbst in den Konflikt zwischen Korruption und Ehrlichkeit.

Genres: Italy, Mystery, Fiction, Crime

248 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1980

About the author

Timothy Holme (1928-1987) was an English born, but latterly Italian resident, author. He is best known for his biography of Carlo Goldoni, the Venetian playwright and librettist, and for his series of five mystery novels featuring the fictional Neapolitan detective Achille Peroni.

Timothy Holme began his working life in the theatre, switching to journalism after seven years of acting. On holiday in Italy, he met and married his Italian teacher, Bianca. They settled in Verona, where he wrote several non-fiction books (including the biography of Goldoni) and the five Peroni mysteries. He died in Italy in 1987.

Series:
* Inspector Peroni Mystery

Reviews

[Jürgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr schöner Krimi, der mit sehr viele Liebe und Sachkenntnis der italienischen Verhältnisse geschrieben wurde. Die Charaktere wurden schön ausgearbeitet und werden lebendig. Der Spannungsbogen ist sauber durchkonstruiert, dem roten Faden ist leicht zu folgen. Rundum ein handwerklich sauberes Stück Arbeit an der Grenze zwischen klassischem und politischen Krimi.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: memories of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Inspector Achille Peroni gets a missing persons case. He finds a feud and the Red Brigade.

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life doesn’t get any better than this; spent 13 hours in airports and planes Saturday fully masked, but having this terrific little mystery with me sure did make it easier.
Commissario Peroni is currently stationed in Verona, city of Romeo and Juliet, though in modern days the crimes are of a different sort. But then the esteemed retired General Pianteleone goes missing. Folks are in an uproar first because the Red Brigades are blamed, then after his dead body is recovered evidence points to a member of the Pillipopoli family being involved. Things reach a fever pitch when old family secrets come out and it seems the two families are the descendents of, you guessed it, the Capulets and the Montagues, and there’s no love lost between them. Many now see not a political murder but rather the latest dastardly act in this old family fued.
It falls to Peroni to separate the facts from the noise, the truth from the legends and solve the crime. He does so in an inimitable fashion, but will justice be served? You’ll have to read the book to find out, and I highly recommend that you do. Holme wrote 5 of these and I now intend on reading them all. Every mystery lover will enjoy this 1st in the series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1980 and set in Verona, the two warring families are associated with the Fascists and the Red Guards, although probably not with the Capulets and Montagues. After all, how many aristocratic families undergo obscure name changes? Throw in a little Agatha Christie and commedia d’ell arte for an entertaining read.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cliche after cliche after cliche

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) The first book in the Inspector Peroni series introduces us to Achille Peroni, a police inspector from southern Italy, now assigned to a post in Verona. He is assigned to a missing persons case when a famed former general goes missing. His family waited to report his disappearance, hoping to find him on their own. A tip, purportedly from the Red Brigade leads them to the body. Achille is relieved that the case will be taken over by the terrorist arm of the force, but is shocked when he is placed in charge. As he investigates, he finds evidence that the family involved remains in a long standing feud dating back to the Capulets and Montagues. On further investigation, it looks like the general has been holding secret meetings in the countryside, and his son has been lying abut his activities in Milan. Is there a modern day version of the ill-fated romance or is there more going on than meets the eye? He must use all of his wits, charm, and dashing southern good looks to find out which leads are red herrings and who is responsible for this rash of crimes. Filled with sly humor, some twists and turns, and an interesting cast of characters, this was a nice start to the series.

[Juliann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled between giving this book a two or three star review. I really liked Achille Peroni- he's a great protagonist. But I couldn't get past the other cast- none were very genuine. Take for example his 10 year old nephew and 13 year old niece who were so completely unbelievable. I get that they're supposed to be geniuses, but it was just too much. I loved the setting - having spent some time in Verona, it was fun to imagine the scenes of the book happening in places I'm familiar with. But then the ending seemed a little contrived and cliché. Don't worry- I'm not giving any spoilers here. I just felt the author was trying too hard to be clever and give it some dramatic twist, but it's a twist that's used far too often in mystery novels. When I finally finished, I felt like I needed to send the author some sort of feedback on his book- a first for me. I kind of feel like if the reader is that aware of the author when that's not intentional on the part of the author, something needs work.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Italian police procedural featuring the "Rudolph Valentino of Italian police," Achille Peroni. Peroni is from Naples in the south, but in this story he is working in Verona in the north. Verona is the "home" of Romeo and Juliet, and that figures prominently in the story. I figured this mystery out pretty easily, but Peroni was a pleasant character to get to know, although I think he relied too heavily on his young nephew and niece to do his thinking for him. The writing was good; the story and characters had vibrancy to them. The setting of Verona, with old families of opposing political dynasties in 1980 (and the Red Brigade in action) was interesting.

I'd only recommend this to avid mystery readers with the caveat that, although the "whodunit" aspect is the main drive of the story, it isn't much of a puzzler. However, the political aspects of the case, since I wasn't familiar with how Italian politics works/doesn't work, made the book worth reading and enjoyable.

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the first book in this series, The Neapolitan Streak, and I enjoyed it immensely. The protagonist, Inspector Achille Peroni, is a unique and fun character. The author lets us get inside the head of this gorgeous Neapolitan man, where we discover his vanity, ample ego, dual character of former child criminal and today's honorable policeman, Anglophile, poser, publicity hound, loving brother and uncle, and his innate desire to uncover the truth.

For the full and illustrated review visit Italophile Book Reviews at
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this paperback kicking around for decades in the "must get around to it" pile, and finally did. What a fun read, and pokes gentle fun at Italian north/south "stereotypes". Good to read something written before the complete take-over by PC of anything that distinguishes different cultures in a humourous way. A good procedural, and Peroni's niece and nephew are brilliant. Holmes' other four Peroni books are a bit hard to find.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the detective and the Veronese flavor but have to agree with others that the plot was a little predictable. The book started out stronger on character development but then characters became less believable as the story progressed. I will definitely read another, though.

[Pam]

02/15/08 purchased at MOTB

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly predictable, but a good read. Definitely a page-turner, but the insertion of the Montague-Capulet feud into the plot is pretty silly.

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only part way thru. Lovely, fluffy mystery with enough of Naples to remind me of life there.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

love interesting location mysteries...this is 1rst of a series about an Italian detective in Verona

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite sweet and an easy read. Rather predictable plot with easy-to-guess baddies but gentle and nice for the Italian feel.

[Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stopped by "Partners & Crime" in the Village Saturday. Walked away with three new books.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good info on Italian life in the times of the Red Brigade. Plot is a little complex, but I love learning about Italian culture and home life.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little silly, but quite charming. Will definitely read the next in the series.

[Catherine Osborne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Got it off my mom's bookshelf, reasonable enough, but I figured out who did it well before the detective did, which always annoys me.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in the series. Very entertaining, but they get better.