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Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery #5
Tod in Florenz.
Used book in good condition, due to its age it could contain normal signs of use
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
18 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Magdalen Nabb
65 books54 followersMAGDALEN NABB was born in Lancashire in 1947 and trained as a potter. In 1975 she abandoned pottery, sold her home and her car, and came to Florence with her son, knowing nobody and speaking no Italian. She has lived there ever since, and pursues a dual career as crime writer and children's author.
She has written fourteen crime novels featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the carabinieri, all set in Florence, which she describes as 'a very secret city. Walk down any residential street and you have no idea what is going on behind those blank walls. It's a problem the Marshal comes up against all the time.'
Magdalen Nabb also writes the immensely successful Josie Smith books, set in her native Lancashire, which form the basis of the Granada children's TV series, Josie Smith, scripted by the author. Her first book, Josie Smith, was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1989, and in l99l, Josie Smith and Eileen was winner of the prestigious Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 age group.
Series:
* Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery
* Josie Smith
She has written fourteen crime novels featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the carabinieri, all set in Florence, which she describes as 'a very secret city. Walk down any residential street and you have no idea what is going on behind those blank walls. It's a problem the Marshal comes up against all the time.'
Magdalen Nabb also writes the immensely successful Josie Smith books, set in her native Lancashire, which form the basis of the Granada children's TV series, Josie Smith, scripted by the author. Her first book, Josie Smith, was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1989, and in l99l, Josie Smith and Eileen was winner of the prestigious Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 age group.
Series:
* Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery
* Josie Smith
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 12, 2025
Leider an vielen Stellen langweilig. Besonders der Abschnitt mit der Geschichte vom Doktor über die Kriegszeit musste ich überfliegen. Das Ende, wo der Fall aufgelöst wird, hat mir auch nicht gefallen. Insgesamt war es mir zu wenig Krimi bzw. Spannung.
Einzig positive waren die Charaktere Niccolini und Guarnaccia, ihre Dynamik war ganz cool.
2.5/5 ⭐️
Einzig positive waren die Charaktere Niccolini und Guarnaccia, ihre Dynamik war ganz cool.
2.5/5 ⭐️
December 22, 2021
A Swiss art student is killed in a tiny, hermetically sealed village where she’s learning to make pottery at the local workshops. The murder triggers a lot of repressed local animosity and history going back, inevitably, to the war. The centerpiece is a wartime atrocity told by a contemporary witness that lays out the roots of conflict between the town’s two main men. This is the most Maigret like of the series that I’ve read because of the oppressive, claustrophobic life of the village. The Marshal is more active than usual but 3.75 stars because the crime and the wartime history are parallel stories.
November 13, 2024
A FANTASTIC waste of time
July 13, 2024
Inveterate mystery reader that I am, it’s surprising that I’d never read any of Magdalen Nabb’s series featuring Marshal Guarnaccia. I did do the first two last year, but they felt dated, slow-paced and relatively unsatisfying. I recently found this well worn paperback edition of #5 (it literally fell apart as I turned each page), but while the book was dying, the story began to live. I quite enjoyed the Marshal’s outing in a small rural village outside his usual Florence environs. I’ll now eagerly look for another.
As with Simenon’s Inspector Maigret, Guarnaccia is an observer, and his keen eye takes the measure of people and their behavior, enabling him to gather the information essential to solving the cases he comes across. Here, a Swiss lady living in Florence has been taking the bus out into the countryside to apprentice with a rural potter, learning to make majolica. But she disappears and her roommate notifies the carabinieri. Guarnaccia is dispatched to the village to trace her last known movements.
In these rural communities families live for generations and grudges are long held; in this village there are still conflicts between those families who were partisans and those of the collaborators during the Second World War. The Marshal feels strongly that somehow there’s a connection between those conflicts and the disappearance of the young Swiss woman. His observational instincts lead to the deduction that both puts him in grave danger and cracks the case.
Very much enjoyed my visit to rural Italy.
As with Simenon’s Inspector Maigret, Guarnaccia is an observer, and his keen eye takes the measure of people and their behavior, enabling him to gather the information essential to solving the cases he comes across. Here, a Swiss lady living in Florence has been taking the bus out into the countryside to apprentice with a rural potter, learning to make majolica. But she disappears and her roommate notifies the carabinieri. Guarnaccia is dispatched to the village to trace her last known movements.
In these rural communities families live for generations and grudges are long held; in this village there are still conflicts between those families who were partisans and those of the collaborators during the Second World War. The Marshal feels strongly that somehow there’s a connection between those conflicts and the disappearance of the young Swiss woman. His observational instincts lead to the deduction that both puts him in grave danger and cracks the case.
Very much enjoyed my visit to rural Italy.
March 16, 2021
„Tod in Florenz“ ist spannend und erfüllt somit die Hauptaufgabe eines Krimis - aber: Ja es gibt für mich doch einige Einwände, so z.B. dass die Geschichte zum Teil etwas unausgeglichen erzählt wird. In den ersten hundert Seiten plätschert der Fall so vor sich hin, um dann plötzlich mit dem Auftauchen eines alten Professors in ein ganz anderes Genre katapultiert zu werden. Während vieler Seiten wird die Geschichte Italiens im zweiten Weltkrieg erzählt, in der es auch in der Gemeinde des Mordfalls zu Gräueltaten kam, die auf das Leben der Einwohner bis in die Gegenwart einwirken. Dies ist aufwühlend, wirkt aber all zu sehr aufgesetzt. Danach wird der Fall gelöst, ohne dass wir wirklich viel über das Opfer erfahren. Magdalen Nabb schreibt packend, aber völlig überzeugen konnte mich dieses Buch nicht.
December 31, 2021
At the heart of this story is a profound narrative about Italy. Italy has always been a country of provinces and villages with long histories of friendships, alliances and feuds. As younger people went to the big cities the rural areas have remained very traditional. Overlay this story with the terrible invasions of World War II and the German occupation. Italians were forced to choose sides in order to survive and historical rivalries and friendships were tested. In this book, two outsiders, one from Rome and Guarnaccia from Sicily come to try to solve a murder of another outsider, a young Swiss student. Guarnaccia at least has the understanding of how difficult a problem he faces while his brash partner does not. The heart of the book is a long narrative by the village doctor who realizes the complexity of the problem. A really outstanding book in the series.
February 16, 2022
I like these Magdalen Nabb books but I found this one a bit hard to take. It was written in the last century, probably 30 years ago, and the casual misogyny embedded in the story caused some cognitive dissonance. I’m sorry, but women do not “get themselves killed”. Someone kills them. And usually it’s a man. Whatever the so-called reason.
But anyway, the book still gets 3 stars because of a long conversation with a retired doctor, which turned into a history lesson of what it was like in a small village outside of Florence during the war, after the Armistice of 1943 but before the Americans arrived.
Important lesson from this book: do not marry your cousin.
But anyway, the book still gets 3 stars because of a long conversation with a retired doctor, which turned into a history lesson of what it was like in a small village outside of Florence during the war, after the Armistice of 1943 but before the Americans arrived.
Important lesson from this book: do not marry your cousin.
June 25, 2019
Another well written and enjoyable episode in the Marshal Guarnacci series by Magdalen Nabb.
I liked the setting in Montelupo Fiorentino, a small place near Florence that is famous for its pottery factories. The place is less than an hour by car from our home in Italy so I will certainly visit the place some time soon.
The author is very knowledgeable about the pottery business which adds to the story.
Good and suspenseful storyline.
I liked the setting in Montelupo Fiorentino, a small place near Florence that is famous for its pottery factories. The place is less than an hour by car from our home in Italy so I will certainly visit the place some time soon.
The author is very knowledgeable about the pottery business which adds to the story.
Good and suspenseful storyline.
October 23, 2016
Sometimes books come up a little dated, this is one of those. The treatment of women and of the mentally handicapped is just too out of date to make this a great read today.
February 10, 2022
Habe mir ein bisschen mehr erhofft. Schade!
Bis zum 6. Kapitel war ich echt gespannt und dann hat die Geschichte eine Wendung genommen die ich nich so huge fand. Auch die Auflösung war etwas lasch.
Bis zum 6. Kapitel war ich echt gespannt und dann hat die Geschichte eine Wendung genommen die ich nich so huge fand. Auch die Auflösung war etwas lasch.
May 18, 2025
Like many of her mysteries, this is more interesting for its portrayal of Italian life. Like Donna Leon, another expatriate living for years in Italy, she has a good grasp of the machinations of Italian life and social structures. In this case the death of a beautiful Swiss teacher who was on sabbatical with a friend to Florence where they were studying Italian, and in the case of the murdered girl, pottery turning and painting, the Marshall finds himself up against the unwelcoming citizens of a tight knit town of potters. Could Emotional scars left from WW2, though it is over 40 years, be at play? About 1/2 through, the murderer becomes obvious. I kept expecting it to be a red herring.
December 6, 2025
I would give this book a solid 3/5 plot-wise, but the pacing of the first half is just soooooooo incredibly slow. And then, in the second half you're just getting info-dumped on by that doctor. I don't know...
As a reader new to mystery and crime as a genre, this was nice but I could imagine this to be pretty bland for the hardcore mystery readers.
Overall not bad, loved the two marshalls but there are many better books out there.
As a reader new to mystery and crime as a genre, this was nice but I could imagine this to be pretty bland for the hardcore mystery readers.
Overall not bad, loved the two marshalls but there are many better books out there.
August 15, 2018
It's interesting that Ms Naab trained as a potter because that process/industry is at the heart of this novel. Marchal Guarnaccia is a very particular character and if you engage with him, then these series are great. But he's not the easiest character to connect to so although this is a very craft murder mystery, it doesn't get my top stars.
January 30, 2024
This was a gripping story about a murder whose roots lay in a small village's history during World War II. I enjoyed the details of pottery and ceramics production, the local canteen full of characters and the collaboration between the local police chief and the Marshal. Another enjoyable read with a slightly convoluted plot and narrative style but great setting and characters.
December 4, 2017
A very good read, and I failed to guess the murderer before the reveal. Well maintained plot and nicely developed characters. Overall feel similar to the Andrea Camilleri series to me (a point in its favor), someone compared it to Simenon, but I think those are quite different.
January 27, 2019
I really enjoy this understated series- combining the history or italy over the last century with a key character who finally solves the case in his brooding thoughtful way- very uncharacteristic of many italian policemen
November 27, 2020
Always enjoy the meandering thoughts of the Marshal, add to that interesting plots, food and some familiar characters and I have a smile plastered on my face the whole time I am reading. Unfortunately it appears that I have read them all!
February 18, 2023
zu Anfang fand ich die Handlung gut & war gespannt was als nächstes passiert. ab etwa der Mitte hat das Buch mich „verloren“ und dann zum Ende hin wieder gepackt.
alles in einem würde ich 3,5 Sterne geben :)
alles in einem würde ich 3,5 Sterne geben :)
March 29, 2018
I'm a big fan of Magdalen Nabb and her Inspector Guarnaccia series. Having said that, this is my least favorite novel in that series. The ending was predictable and too close to Of Mice and Men.
June 21, 2020
Quick-read mystery that's pretty good (some weird translation quirks) and (spoiler) an Of Mice & Men tie of sorts...that was rather telegraphed.
Read
November 15, 2024She ended up in the shred (shard) ruck (pile).
March 24, 2010
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 reticent was more my fault than the author’s. I stared 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+,” but I do highly recommend it.
THE MARSHALL AND THE MURDERER (Pol Proc-Marshal Guarnaccia-Florence, Italy-Cont) – VG+
Nabb, Magdalen – 5th in series
Charles Scribner’s Sons, ©1987, US Hardcover – ISBN: 0684188848
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 reticent was more my fault than the author’s. I stared 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+,” but I do highly recommend it.
THE MARSHALL AND THE MURDERER (Pol Proc-Marshal Guarnaccia-Florence, Italy-Cont) – VG+
Nabb, Magdalen – 5th in series
Charles Scribner’s Sons, ©1987, US Hardcover – ISBN: 0684188848
May 31, 2010
Magdalen Nabb writes about a Carabinairi Marshal who reigns over a small neighborhood in Florence. If Commisario Brunetti is an intellectual blueblood in Venice, Marshal Guarnaccio is a middle-class investigator who lives with his family in the Carabinairi station that he oversees.
He doesn't give himself too much credit for cleverness. His view of Italy is of the small, unmarked piazzas in Florence where ordinary craftsmen and small business owners live and work. Like Brunetti, a good deal of time is spent navigating the byzantine social structures and relationships that make up life in Italy.
Being a relatively new country, Italy is still a strange collection of languages and social customs that hark back to the city-states and nation-states that have existed for centuries. A Caribinairi from Syracuse finds the native Tuscans as inscrutable as the average American finds most native Italians.
In this novel, a young and pretty American apprentice is found murdered in the shard pile at a small, country pottery. It is 1987 and the injuries of WW II still linger. Closed to outsiders, it takes a former insider to crack the case by remembering the past.
I might have liked this book more if I wasn't so smitten with Commisario Brunetti who as an educated person spends most of his crime-solving time making sociological and psychological observations of his culture.
The public library has only five of the 20 Marshal Guarnaccio mysteries so I will content myself with them and see how I feel a few books from now.
He doesn't give himself too much credit for cleverness. His view of Italy is of the small, unmarked piazzas in Florence where ordinary craftsmen and small business owners live and work. Like Brunetti, a good deal of time is spent navigating the byzantine social structures and relationships that make up life in Italy.
Being a relatively new country, Italy is still a strange collection of languages and social customs that hark back to the city-states and nation-states that have existed for centuries. A Caribinairi from Syracuse finds the native Tuscans as inscrutable as the average American finds most native Italians.
In this novel, a young and pretty American apprentice is found murdered in the shard pile at a small, country pottery. It is 1987 and the injuries of WW II still linger. Closed to outsiders, it takes a former insider to crack the case by remembering the past.
I might have liked this book more if I wasn't so smitten with Commisario Brunetti who as an educated person spends most of his crime-solving time making sociological and psychological observations of his culture.
The public library has only five of the 20 Marshal Guarnaccio mysteries so I will content myself with them and see how I feel a few books from now.
September 11, 2010
Jacket notes: "A young Swiss art student has been reported missing and Marshal Guarnaccia must travel to the small town where she was studying to find out the truth about her disappearance. When her body is found, it appears that she was the victim of a sex-related crime. But Guarnaccia - who comes from a small town himself - suspects that a local feud with roots in the horrors and betrayals of World War II may play an important part in the solution to the crime."
Another good, solid mystery featuring Marshal Guarnaccia, who in his slow and plodding way once again manages to understand the emotions and human nature of people in such a way as to help him solve the murder.
I read several Italian mystery series, and each author has such a different style. Nabb often leaves me wanting a bit more when it comes to being able to vividly picture the settings of her books. However, her plots are always precise and interesting, and she weaves a story that although you can often guess who-did-it...you're not bored getting there.
Another good, solid mystery featuring Marshal Guarnaccia, who in his slow and plodding way once again manages to understand the emotions and human nature of people in such a way as to help him solve the murder.
I read several Italian mystery series, and each author has such a different style. Nabb often leaves me wanting a bit more when it comes to being able to vividly picture the settings of her books. However, her plots are always precise and interesting, and she weaves a story that although you can often guess who-did-it...you're not bored getting there.
November 30, 2012
Magdelen Nabb was a great find for me. This book is the sixth in her Marshall Guarnaccia series. For anyone who has been to Florence and loves Italy, these are a treat. I feel like I am living in the city as I read these books. Guarnaccia, although seemingly a bit plodding in his approach, is very astute when it comes to solving the puzzles (murders) he encounters. The stories are interesting, giving a view into life in Florence, and the books are a quick read. This one takes place mostly in a small town not far from Florence, where a few potters work. The protective and insular quality of such a small place is well-described. The local marshall provides a nice contrast to Guarnacia. Don't miss this series.
August 18, 2013
The Marshal and the Murderer brings a Florentine detective in an Italy of the past into an insular surrounding community to hunt for the murderer of a young woman. The detective is not heroic. He's overweight and given to overindulgence of food and wine and he works via insight instead of reason. Still he finds his way into the seams of a town still dealing with the aftermath of fascism. A fine entrance into another time and place and a reasonable mystery.
March 10, 2013
An interesting story about an Italian detective trying to solve the disappearance (that turned out the be the murder) of a young woman, a Swiss immigrant working in Florence illegally. The 2 stars apply only to the German edition. Someday, I'd like to read this book in its original English; the German translation came across as very clumsy. Wasn't long before my eyes glazed over and I had to give up. Original title: The Marshal and the Murderer
December 17, 2012
Another case that Maresciallo Guarnaccia solves, this time with the help of colleague Niccolini. Magdalen Nabb knows how to tell a story that is exciting and portrays the Italian way of life. The only thing that seemed a bit long was the doctor's monologue towards the end of the book, but it seemed necessary to further explain the village resdidents' behavior and their relations to each other.
March 7, 2014
I love this stories, as well as those by Donna Leon because it adds another dimension to the places I visit as a tourist. Next time I am in one of these cities, I notice more the houses, the people going about their lives.
I love them exactly because so much of the narrative is about describing the everyday comings and goings of the city.
I love them exactly because so much of the narrative is about describing the everyday comings and goings of the city.
March 22, 2015
Worth while. Good classic police procedural, without much of the procedure. Set near Villa Medici on the route from Florence to Pisa. Nice setting, the same milky mist in the valley that rose on the rainy day we visited. Worth a read not only for its Italian setting and bit of WWII history, but also as simply a pretty good tale.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews