The Innocent

Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery #13

by Magdalen Nabb

2006, mass market paperback reprint edition, Arrow Books, London, UK. 263 pages. "Great local atmosphere and rich characterizations." A Marshal Guarnaccia mystery. Death prods the attention of an over-burdened detective.

Genres: Italy, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Procedural, Mystery Thriller

263 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 26, 2005

About the author

MAGDALEN 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

Reviews

[Deborah Moulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things pick up a little for Marshal Salva Guarnaccia in this story about the murder of a Japanese apprentice to an old-time Florentine shoe maker. The crime and its solution is mainly centered around a small square that is peopled with artisans, restauranteurs and other close neighbors who live and work in the small, out of the way square.

While some tourists appear looking for leather goods, it is mercifully free of the rude hordes the flock to Florence. This is the Florence I came looking for when I sought out this author. You can almost see the small trattoria where all the working-class tradesmen come for lunch everyday and you get a sense of the rhythm of their lives.

Into the office about 9 am, work to about 1 pm, take a long leisurely 2 or 3-couse meal with friends or family (and wine!), and then at least an hour's nap. Back at work at 4 pm, then home for a smaller dinner about 9 pm. I think this is a much more civilized way to live. You still get in the 8 hours of work, but it's defined in a more personal way with a few leisurely hours to yourself in mid-day.

If you gave that schedule to an American, they'd either work through "lunch" or think about taking another part-time job to fill the middle part of the day. It's hard to really grasp the essence of another culture. Especially when it's one modeled not around work, but a highly social life in a web of friends. In truth it sounds a lot like college. No wonder we look back with such fondness!

And, oh yes, the Marshal gets his man.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nabb is very good at creating interesting characters and an atmosphere that translates as Italian to a non-Italian reader, but the narrative, focussed on the quirks of Italian patriarchs, gets a tad too repetitive. That could be forgiven, were it not for killing off the most complex character right at the get-go. First, nobody seems to have known her much, but the latter half of the novel is spent on heartfelt reminiscences, which are sometimes downright patronising. Too much is sacrificed here for the sake of an idealized Italy, where a foreigner - pregnant and with an abandoned doctorate - how many boxes are ticked here? - cannot hope to stay alive.

[Cheryl Shadley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Difficult punctuation and syntax

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magdalen Nabb’s writing got better and better with each book she wrote. “The Innocent” is Nabb’s 13th book in her Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia series.

Jacket notes: “The story begins with the discovery of a women’s body in an out-of-the-way pool in the Boboli Gardens, the expansive park next to the Pitti Palace. This is literally in the good Marshal’s back yard since his carabinieri offices and barracks are in a wing of the Pitti Palace. This crime has the usual challenges--identify the victim; determine whether the death was accidental or murder; identify possible motives; look for suspects; and find and arrest the killer.”

I really liked this book. Guarnaccia’s relationship with those around him always makes me smile. He cares not only about the people he’s close to...his wife and children...he also cares about those people who live in the area of Florence that he’s responsible for. The motives for murder are what Guarnaccia digs into...the “why” is just as important, if not more important, than the “how”. Guarnaccia always feels as though he’s not up to the task of solving a murder, when in fact it’s his insight into human frailty that makes sense out of chaos.

[Kb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marshal Guarnaccia is progressing into a more modern world. He carries a mobile phone.

His sons are almost grown. One of the boys has a girlfriend who temporarily turns him vegetarian—ruining the family’s Sunday roast dinner (rabbit, because the Marshal and his wife are from Sicily).

At the core of this book is a really good mystery, regarding a woman who was found drowned in a pond in the Boboli Gardens. She has no face (hungry fish), but the autopsy identifies her as East Asian based on the shape of her skull.

Nabb is good at maintaining continuity in the life of Marshal Guarnaccia. There are references to old cases; and changes happen in locations that are well-known to dedicated readers. The same apartment is linked to two cases several years apart and the Marshal comments on how things have progressed (the apartment has its own toilet now, instead of a shared one down the hall).

But overarching the core mystery and progress in Marshal Guarnaccia’s life is the fate of a changing Florence: immigration, artisans versus the professional class, a new generation that does not respect the old ways, family conflict between generations.

I don’t know how this would read as an introduction to the Marshal or as a one-off. To me, the books are best read in the order they were written. I’d recommend reading at least read one or two of the earlier books before tackling this one.

[Apostolos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Θυμίζει λίγο Μονταλμπάνο, αλλά με τους χαρακτήρες να περιγράφονται υποτυπωδώς (εξαίρεση η οικογένεια του αρχιφύλακα και οι τεχνίτες της πλατείας χωρίς όνομα) και τον αρχιφύλακα να βλέπει όνειρα κι εμείς να πρέπει να μαντεύουμε κάθε φορά αν είναι ξύπνιος ή κοιμάται και ποιος λέει τι σε κάθε διάλογο, δεν είναι περίεργο που ο ένοχος αποκαλύπτεται με την πρώτη του εμφάνιση και χωρίς να μάθουμε **πώς** έφτασε ο αρχιφύλακας σε αυτόν (ίσως επειδή δεν ήμασταν παρόντες στην τράπεζα, ούτε είδαμε τις κινήσεις του λογαριασμού).

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.A young Japanese woman, apprenticing as a shoemaker with a famous craftsmen, turns up dead in an ornamental pond. Love or money? The plot is fine and the book really is about family and parents and children but the stream of consciousness dream sequences don’t really work. They’re further weakened by the formatting problems that plague this series so that they’re very jumbled and hard to follow. More interesting is how the Marshal is still an outsider despite working in Florence for years.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe because this entry is towards the end of the Marshal Guarnaccia series the characters and scenery also became caricatures of earlier Guarnaccia mysteries. The Marshal's quirks, the Florentines' attitudes, and the call backs to earlier mysteries all seemed to make this novel more idiosyncratic than previous entries, maybe a touch of nostalgia as well, knowing that this is towards the end of the Guarnaccia series and there won't be any more...

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Nabb's books, while seemingly about Florence and the Marshall, are often about human betings in the most troubling of passions, pains and emotions. This book, her second to last in the series, is about parents and children. Brava! I often wish Ms. Nabb was not lost to us so young, as I feel the series could have gone on forever.

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of three remaining Guarnaccia mysteries that I have left, wonderful like the rest, her capture of day-to-day Florence is what makes these books special. I can't believe it's been 10 years since Ms. Nabb passed away, her talent is truly missed

[Katja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es war ok. Zum Teil war mir der Erzählstil zu sprunghaft, zu wenig flüssig. Ich war hin und wieder etwas gelangweilt und wollte das Buch schon weglegen. Hab dann bis zum Schluss durchgezogen, weil sich das hin und wieder ja lohnt. Fazit hier: Meh…

[George Makridakis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Αστυνομικό στη Φλωρεντία. Έχει όλα τα κλισέ (οι ρόλοι των αστυνομικών, οι πολλές αναφορές στα τοπόσημα της πόλης, οι locals).
Σχετικά ευχάριστο, με πολλές ευκολίες παρόλα αυτά - ειδικά η αστυνομική έρευνα είναι ελάχιστα ρεαλιστική.
Ενδιαφέρον το μοτίβο της σχέσης πατέρα-γιου.

[Michelle Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit meandering. A nice trip into Florence and the vagaries of being a policeman. A bit long and I lost interest. I like the author and her way of writing other books.

[Vicky Spanopoulou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Greek it was a very nice one smooth writing and the plot was really nice keeping you focused. I would love to read more from this author.

[Δημητρης Παπαγεωργιου · Rating 2 out of 5]

Βαρετο!

[Giorgos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ωραια πλοκη και ροη ιστοριας στην Φλωρεντια

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The penultimate in the series- beautifully crafted and poignant

[George M]

Young lovers vs. the accountant son.

[Erika]

Ich habe ein Buch bei BookCrossing.com registriert!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14231074

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

A local woman who is stealing water hyacinths from the Boboli Gardens finds a nasty surprise while peering down into the pond.....

The shoemaker's young female Japanese apprentice goes missing...

The younger carabinieri has been upset for over a week and has requested time off to visit his ailing mother......

The local "Romeo's" wife & long-time mistress are fighting again..and his wife wants him out of the house.... He's not wanting to move in with his mistress and her 90 year old mother....

I like this....usually I do not like "descriptive narratives"...but as I know next to nothing about Italy, I find this interesting and it helps me get a feel for the characters & the setting.

I also liked the story...even if I was able to figure most of it out. In fact, I think the town & characters tend to be a bit "charming" for lack of a better word.

[Candy Wood]

Another good entry in this series, making me increasingly sad that I'm approaching its end, with just one book left. Now that Marshal Guarnaccia's sons are teens, features of his cases make him think about parenting and about change. Loss of innocence, in keeping with the title, is a central theme. Less personal changes are involved too, as craftsmen and family businesses are disappearing from a modernizing Florence, and guest workers from as far away as Japan add to the already cosmopolitan tourist destination. The setting rarely strays from Florence in this one, so that the map in the back of the Arrow paperback is especially welcome. Though readers of the whole series will appreciate how the Marshal's character and relationships have developed, this book could be enjoyed without that prior knowledge.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in English, but I read the version that had been translated into German - effectively translating it back into English. A bit perverse maybe, but I'm trying to learn German. It was a good book for an exercise like that - relatively short sections, it gets on with the story without any long tedious description (glossing over a baffling dream sequence). It taught me a bit about the structure of the Italian police force as well as society in Florence, where everyone has time to hang around drinking wine on the way to the bank. The mystery itself jogged along nicely, though it was relatively uncomplicated in comparison with others of the genre - relatively few people 'in the frame'. I enjoyed the three months it kept me and my dictionary company, and wouldn't rule out reading more of this series, in either language.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Innocent is one of my favorite of the Marshal books, and I have liked all that I have read, because we see so much of his thought process. It is a mystery of neighborhood and place, solved by the Marshal's tenacious patience and deliberate relations. It is a tale of generations and of the neighborhoods where the Marshal does his plodding work. Not a fast moving or thriller sort of tale, but one so well done in creating place, character, and real compassion.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

A new author .. set in Italy ... not sure if I'll try more. The main character is a 'Marshall' in the Italian police. I found him rather boring ... not too exciting about the other characters either ... picked it up because it was in Italy.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a sucker for Nabb’s Guarnaccia books. Good plots that meander along, bumping up against interesting characters, locales and sub-plots. All contained in the Marshal’s ponderous but never boring mental processes

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Very good.

[Ron Beattie]

Rubbish, did not finish

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another fascinating mystery, with a delightful setting. However, one dream sequence rather lost me. I may take a break from this author - but only a short break.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot. Having been to Florence in the past year, I could visualize the environs. The plot was entertaining.

[Ulrike]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13063324