Η όψη του σκότους

Hanno Stiffeniis #3

by Michael Gregorio

Ένας τρελός επιστήμονας επιθυμεί να συγκροτήσει τον "απόλυτο στρατό" και δολοφονεί εγκύους, για να αποσπάσει τα έμβρυα και να τα μελετήσει... Ο ντετέκτιβ Στιφένιις καλείται να επιλύσει την παράδοξη υπόθεση, αντιμέτωπος με τις πιο σκοτεινές πλευρές της ανθρώπινης φύσης...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Italian Literature, Historical Mystery, Novels, British Literature

588 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2009

About the author

Daniela De Gregorio and Michael G. Jacob

Reviews

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Michael Gregorio books because they not only entertain me, but they challenge me and teach me. Murder mysteries at their juicy best, but also fonts of fascinating history and culture, written without one hint of dumbing down. (I am happy to report I used my dictionary footnote feature on my Kindle often!)

Start with The Critique of Criminal Reason - the first of the 3 Gregorio novels starring Hanno Stiffeniis.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prussia 1808, le città sono invase dalle mosche, dal sudiciume e dall’esercito napoleonico mentre le spiagge del baltico si tingono di sangue. Una serie di efferati omicidi colpisce le raccoglitrici d’ambra e potrebbe compromettere i piani politico economici dei francesi, che con la preziosa resina stanno pagando le spese belliche. Sarà il magistrato Hanno Stiffeniis, allievo di Kant, a dover risolvere il caso. Luminosa tenebra (Einaudi, pp 576, € 21) è il terzo capitolo di una tetralogia firmata dalla spoletina Daniela De Gregorio e dall’inglese Michael Jacob con lo pseudonimo Michael Gregorio. La coppia ha costruito una narrazione a orologeria, raffinata e brutale, con un’atmosfera degna di una fiaba macabra. Li abbiamo incontrati.


Luminosa Tenebra ha uno spiccato senso per il gotico e per il dettaglio storico...
L’ambientazione della raccolta dell’ambra sulle coste baltiche ci ha fatto entrare in un mondo sconosciuto, affascinante e diabolico. Lo abbiamo ricostruito basandoci su vecchi documenti. L’ambra, poi, è un materiale bello ma terribile. Davvero gotico: è ancor più prezioso quando porta in sé una creatura cristallizzata nell’attimo della morte.
Qual è il ruolo di Kant nella narrazione?
La chiave per capire i casi che Stiffeniis deve risolvere gli viene fornita spesso da pagine inedite del suo maestro di cui scopre, dopo la morte, gli interessi insospettati per gli aspetti oscuri dell’animo. Le spiegazioni ai delitti non sono mai tranquillizzanti. Nemmeno per il lettore.

Giallo italiano e giallo inglese sono diversi?
Noir, mystery, thriller sono termini forse più appropriati. Gli anglosassoni sono precisi nel classificarli. L’editore inglese descrive i nostri libri historical thriller, quello americano historical mystery.
La settimana scorsa eravamo a Cambridge per Bodies in the Bookshop, un evento letterario che si tiene nella famosa libreria Heffers da vent’anni. Più di sessanta scrittori si incontrano con i lettori. C’erano tutti i tipi di gialli: storici, di area (per ogni zona d’Inghilterra c’è uno scrittore che ci ambienta una storia), quelli con i personaggi famosi che indagano, i polizieschi à la CSI e una serie che racconta indagini sui treni vittoriani. In Italia le fortune del thriller sono recenti. Tempo fa abbiamo letto qualcuno che ne decretava già la fine. Mah! 
I vostri romanzi sono pubblicati in inglese e poi tradotti...
Uno scrive in italiano, l’altro in inglese e ci editiamo a vicenda. Il manoscritto arriva all’editore in inglese e il suo intervento è minimo. Essere tradotti è come leggere un libro nuovo. Mario Marchetti è bravissimo. Immaginiamo lo siano anche gli altri ventiquattro che ci hanno tradotto nelle rispettive lingue.

Cosa c’è in cantiere?
Dopo il quarto romanzo, Unholy Awakening, prenderemo una pausa da Hanno per dedicarci a un nuovo personaggio: si muove a Roma subito dopo la fine della guerra, ha ancora in tasca la foto di Mussolini ed è stato chiamato a lavorare con un americano per risolvere delitti che potrebbero turbare l’opinione pubblica e destabilizzare la nuova Italia. Le indagini lo porteranno poi in Inghilterra, in fondo siamo un autore anglosassone.

[Giovanni Faga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terzo libro della serie dedicata alle indagini del procuratore Hanno Stiffenis. L'ambientazione suggestiva e descritta con cura è uno dei punti di forza del libro. Ci troviamo nel 1808, in territorio prussiano occupato dalle milizie francesi. Al procuratore Stiffenis viene assegnato un caso di omicidio avvenuto sulla costa baltica, dove i francesi si stanno impossessando di uno dei tesori nazionali: l'ambra.
Il libro è abbastanza scorrevole e scritto con cura, sebbene la ricerca di uno stile "ancien" a volte risulti eccessiva. Affascinanti le questioni filosofiche e scientifiche che permeano il libro, che permettono al lettore di comprendere il periodo storico (senza risultare noiose).
Ciò che non mi ha convinto fino in fondo è l'intreccio, che inizia in maniera estremamente intrigante ma (a mio avviso) si dipana con poca efficacia, a volte scomparendo n secondo piano quando dovrebbe essere in primissimo.
Su questo libro ho sentito e letto opinioni entusiaste, quindi immagino che come sempre sia una questione di gusti.
Se volte un noir "diverso", dategli una possibilità.

[Harvee Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical mystery plot but a bit over long. Now I can't decide whether I'd wear amber jewelry or not.

[JRK Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the Michael Gregorio books. I never realized that's two separate people - Michael and Gregorio! Ever heard of a writing couple?

[Berrendsci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark and unhappy from start to finish. Interesting look into a piece of the past I had never encountered.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the terrific Hanno Stiffeniis series.

[Ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostof the time I was frustrated with the stupidity of Stifeniis. I mean really how ignorant can one be... I think it was increasingly obvious who the murderer was and the reader just had to wait for Stifeniis to catch-the-hell-up! Endure him chasing vague "leads" . Also there were a few plot holes and inconsistencies that never really get addressed... And the complete character remake of Los Halles in the end? What's up with that!!? Really I think the story could have been a bit more thoroughly thought out. Still I enjoyed the ending to a point as I was proven right in my theory.

[Doug Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting things about this story, the amber mines on the Baltic and the Napoleonic army's exploitation of that wealth, but... the book moves along very deliberately to be kind. There's no reason this story should've taken almost 500 pages to tell. Too long, too slow, too many other books to read. Pass.

[CAW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book from a shelf in the library when I was short on time, and found I really liked the writing. The story was a bit gory sometimes, and I noticed that this is #3 in a series, so I will order in the first two now.

[Emg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too long. Interesting information on the amber trade.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prussian Magistrate, Hanno Stiffeniis is called in by the French authorities to investigate, a gruesome murder of an amber girl. The amber girls collect amber from the Baltic shore, a commodity much craved for by the French to support their war in Spain.

Amber is also much sought out by scientists for the inclusions of insects and other creatures which might give insight into the whole process of Creation. One collector might stop at nothing to get their grasping hands on such amber pieces.

The historical aspect of the novel is better than the mystery. The descriptions of daily life and the practice of medicine in Napoleonic times are fascinating as too are the many descriptions of amber, its properties and the way it is sought and desired. The mystery is rather transparent, a Cadfael or a Hercule Poirot would have cracked it long before our lumbering Hanno Stiffeniis. Stiffeniis was a student of Kant in Koenigsberg, but that connection isn't essential to the story, it seems more like a celebrity name-drop.

[Gail Baugniet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is likely to remain one of my favorite reads in 2015-2016. Described as a “gothic historical thriller,” this novel offers interesting insight into the history of Prussia’s Baltic coast. I read it as part of my research for a genealogical novel I’m writing (and worked on during 2015 NaNoWriMo.) Although I chose the novel as an addition to the bibliography of source material for the book, its entertainment value was an added and pleasantly surprising bonus.

In the vein of a Hercule Poiret-type detective, Hanno Stiffenias is like a dog with a marrow-rich bone. He won’t let go until every last clue is sucked out of the murder case he is investigating.

The plot includes an occupying French Army and a young woman’s mutilated body found near the Baltic seashore; and a subplot about Baltic amber. Murder, intrigue, and a luscious color keep the story moving forward at a fast pace, dragging the reader quite willingly to a final solution.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in 1808, after Prussia has lost the Battle of Jena to Napoleon and the Grand Armee, in the northern coast of East Prussia. Someone is killing and mutilating the young women who spend their days in the waters of the cold Baltic, looking for amber. Amber will finance the French army's campaign in Spain and, if they get enough of it, in Russia, and with the women being killed off, who will extract the amber. Procurator Hanno Stifaniis is instructed by the French military command to find the murderer, and if he can be Prussian, so much the better. Prussian or French, Stifaniis has to find out why he's killing, why he's mutilating, and who is now in his sights. The book is long, the story complex, the plot twisted, but the last 50 pages are truly gripping. Since I have only a very cursory knowledge of this area of Europe, and know little of Napoleon's campaigns in the East, I was at a bit of a loss for a lot of the time, but I persevered and was rewarded with an excellent story.

[Janice Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in a series about a Prussian magistrate, Hanno Stiffenius. In this one he is commissioned by the French to solve the murder of a young woman who worked as an amber gatherer by the Baltic sea. I'm very impressed by how this author duo adds details which appeal to the senses. (One I noted - that when his maid Lotte does the wash she layers lye and ash in a huge tub, pressing the mixture, which made a farting sound when the air was released.)
Amber plays a big role here, making me research it myself and how important it is as a commodity in the Baltic Sea area. I have four pages of hand-written notes on this book, giving my reactions as I read to a complex and multi-layered mystery. I think this is the last one I read in this series, and refreshing my mind on it makes me want to look for others.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good story, with lots of good detail about Prussia under Napoleonic occupation, and the crimes are brutal, these people (for Michael Gregorio is a husband and wife team) are not novelists. There was no feel for pacing, or for when to leave something alone. It was almost like reading Tolkien in places, where every leaf sings!

Anyway, it's good enough, but it's not great. I won't bother with anything else by them.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.75 on the nat-o-meter. Kept me turning the pages and I enjoyed the way the authors set the interior scenes, the townscapes and cityscapes.

There is a great review by J. Sydney Jones on his Scene of the Crime blog.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A library patron said that she would never see the world the same way after reading this historical mystery. Having read the book, I have no idea what she meant! The mystery is intriguing, however, despite the stench and gruesome details of the world depicted -- that of amber-gatherers in the age of Napoleon.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could say I really liked this but! It is well written, very descriptive and probably fairly historically accurate. The but is that the story is dark, gory, and descriptions of the life lived by these characters is beyond grim. Guess I like a bit less accuracy to my books. You do need a strong stomach to get through and whatever you do - don't read this book at lunch!

[Chris Bartholomew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. Loved the writing and the story. A murder mystery set in Napoleon's Prussia a local magistrate is tasked with solving a gruesome murder of a amber collector on the northern coast. It held my attention from the first page to the last and kept me thinking about "who-done-it"!

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in Prussia in the early 1800's shortly after the invasion and occupation by Napoleon's forces. The mystery deals with murders of women who gather precious amber from the Baltic Sea.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will always be in the back of your mind when you see a pice of amber. The mystery itself was not really that great but the settings were very descriptively described. I could almost feel the cold seeping into my bones.

[Sassa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A historical novel set in Prussia during the Napoleonic wars, this book was very dark and atmospheric but ultimately disappointing. The mystery was completely predictable. Also, it was overly long.

[Paging Snidget · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to get through. I did not like the main character. Very poor pacing, very poor development of the mystery. Pretentious use of language. Do not recommend this book at all.

[North Olmsted Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

A library patron said she'd never see the world the same way after reading this historical mystery. I didn't have the same reaction but I found the mystery to be intriguing. LD

[Antos73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'ambientazione storica non è male e anche il contorno, un po' macchinoso nella costruzione. Un giallo godibile.

[Saufferer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Predictable, depressing and overly verbose.

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for anybody trying to understand Prussian (and German) history

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This damned sunny weather.....

[Panagiotis]

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