The Last Castrato

Mystery of Florence #1

by John Spencer Hill

Cordelia Sinclair, an American student, arrives in Florence to study a secret musical brotherhood as Inspector Arbati confronts the horrific rituals of idealists who tried to revive the Renaissance opera, where castrati had sung the soprano parts

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

269 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

JOHN SPENCER HILL was born in Brantford, Ontario. He obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and his Ph.D from the University of Toronto. He wrote two mystery novels, The Last Castrato and Ghirlandaio's Daughter as well as several academic books. He was an English professor at the University of Ottawa until his death in 1998.

Series:
* Mystery of Florence

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (tie) 1996: The Last Castrato

Reviews

[Gloria Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cordelia Sinclair has moved to Florence, Italy, not only to complete her doctoral research in music but also to find herself. She is recovering from divorce from a husband who has treated her as a lesser being.

She arrives in Florence during the latest murder in what appears to be serial slasher killings. That's what Inspector Arbati suspects, although his partner disagrees with him.

The incidents seem far removed from Cordelia's life, until reality rushes in and overwhelms her.

The title gives us not only a clue to the crimes but to the theme of our novel. Symbolic castrati are those individuals who have been compressed into lesser roles, never allowed to develop their full potential. The story moves slowly, with few surprises. The descriptions are wordy and half of the verbiage could be removed without harming the story. The philosophy is deep and thought provoking, as individuals probe the inner and outer person. It seems there's a bit of castrati in each character.

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read in 2003, I gave this another read in 2015. As a murder mystery, it was fine. I was a bewildered at the female protagonist's swooning over men (first Farinelli, and later her crush) who say anything remotely intellectual-sounding. I did not think the men's philosophical musings were especially well articulated, and certainly they were not polished positions. So, from a reader's perspective, this didn't feel like a "philosophical novel." If it was intended as a philosophical novel, then I am bothered by its trope of the "psycho queer" who must endure deep, unredeemed suffering yet, through his negative example of how not to lead a proper human life, furnishes interesting dinner conversation for the normals. I blogged rather thoroughly about this character in Disruptive Dissertation, but be warned that this blog post contains all the spoilers about the murder mystery and the killer's secrets.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a little torn about this one. It is complex to the point of absurdity, but I like complexity so that's all right. However, right at the start I sussed out the killer. It wasn't rocket science, as they say. I did not guess at the complications.

Cordelia Sinclair goes to Florence to study early influences on opera and meets more than she bargained for. She is excited and dedicated to her studies but at the same time figuring out her life on her own. This is the first time she has been completely responsible for her life, as she only recently divorced her cruel husband and bears still the wounds from the marriage.

Meanwhile, murders are taking place in Florence and she becomes caught up in them after being questioned as a witness by Detective Carlo Arbati. Oh, and anyone would be able to tell that the two would get together from the many signals sent.

Arbati manages to dig through years of history of the murdered men, to find common ground and to find a suspect. But then Cordelia beats him to it...

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: set in the beautiful city of Florence. Was one of the policemen her antagonist? Or a neighbour? Why was this happening?

[John Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have rated this higher under other circumstances. Unfortunately, I read about 100 pages, then put it down to read a 900-page opus that had to go back to the library. Picking up the threads was a real challenge, since the story is set in Florence and therefore (as you’d expect) everyone has Italian names except for our American heroine. Sorting out the killer from the policeman from the nice neighbor from the victims, etc.—a real challenge at that point. And not made any easier by the fact that the last book I’d read was also set in Florence and also had a corrupt banker as a central figure.

All that aside, I found too much philosophizing. A little was necessary to set up the dénouement, but there was a lot more than that. Maybe the two-star rating is right after all.

[Darcy Abriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great description of Florence and music, in particular the opera. The murder mystery didn't catch me all that well. I was pretty certain early on who was doing it. I had a few issues with the overriding murder plot. Liked the characters and the romantic angle. I love books that deal with psychological and philosophical depth. This book has a lot of that which I found very satisfying. It has some really wonderful turns of phrase. An enjoyable read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The coincidences just pile up too neatly in this book. Liked that Florence is so well described and the geography so well incorporated into the novel, but the plot is predictable, the main characters too fabulous, and convenient coincidences drive the plot.