A Death In Calabria

Michele Ferrara #4

by Michele Giuttari, Howard Curtis (translator)

The fourth Chief Superintendent Ferarra case by Michele Giuttari, the second biggest European crime author in translation, after Stieg LarssonOne of the wildest and most beautiful regions in Italy, known for its rugged coastline and mountains, Calabria is also home to the deadly 'Ndrangheta. An organized Mafia crime operation more feared in Italy than the Cosa Nostra or the Camorra, it is shrouded in mystery. Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara of Italy's elite Anti-Mafia Investigation Department is tasked with investigating the deaths of several Calabria citizens—some in New York, some in the small, isolated villages that dot the Calabrian countryside. To get to the bottom of the case, Ferrara has to infiltrate the village of San Piero d'Aspromonte, deep in the Calabrian mountains. And there, he must put his life on the line to learn more about a family at the center of an ancient, bloody feud.

Genres: Crime, Italy, Fiction, Mystery, Italian Literature, Thriller

323 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Michele Giuttari is former head of the Florence Police Force (1995-2003), where he was responsible for re-opening the Monster of Florence case and jailing several key Mafia figures. He is now a special advisor to the interior minister in Rome, with a remit to monitor Mafia activity.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story cleverly worked between New York and Italy in a combined Police/FBI operation against Mafia after its codes of loyalty are breached in America and retribution follows in the form of clinical assassinations.
The main character of the previous novels, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara is heading up an elite Anti-Mafia Investigation Department in Rome, Italy so from the start the book has a different emphasis and pace compared to his early stories set in and around Florence.
The story is quite simple but over elaborated which can be misleading at times and generally confuses the reader. The author may also have wanted to reflect part of his own experiences disguised as a novel but the fiction doesn't quite reach the standards of early episodes. However, there is an almost perverse fascination with male/female relationships so perhaps he was trying to purge some of the scars of police work on husband and wife.
Hopefully the next book in this excellent series will be more pleasing for my taste but don't ignore this account of the dangerous reach and scope of the 'Ndrangheta. That world is illuminated and its horrors told but the evil and terror isn't perhaps as chilly and frightening as other books have achieved.

[Ciara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a shocker. I was looking forward to a gripping crime novel for my Italian holiday reading. The plot involves about six different law enforcement agencies in Italy and the US. It's impossible to keep track of the main characters (if you can call them that when there's about 20 of them). It's pretty cheesy. All the law enforcers - all male with the exception of an insignificant American detective who goes out with her partner/boss - have doting wives. One wife leaves and then comes back at the end. Why? We don't know nor care. The story is actually about the calabian mafia but is completely lost in the random sub-sub-plots. My favourite bit at the end was the chapter about how wonderful the Italian police are and the Americans falling over themselves to give them medals and praise. Written by an italian bloke for Italian blokes. I like to think it's all the translator's fault and he was just taking the piss safe in the knowledge that no Italian would be bothered to read the English version. Unfortunately I can't loan it to anyone as I left it behind in a hotel room in vasto.

[Anne Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept putting this down and going back to. a good read at times as it could become rather confusing in places.

[Alan Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read all three previous titles in this series, unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. It was a sizeable step backwards for the author who had been making gradual progress since his debut.

The main character of these novels doesn't appear until a third of the way through, and didn't add anything to the book. In fact, he could have been entirely absent and it wouldn't have made much difference. With a change of job and location, gone are the colleagues he has introduced in the previous books, which doesn't help fill the void.

There are far too many characters in this book, all introduced in the same formulaic 'paint by numbers' amateurish style - age, build, hair, distinguishing features. The characterisation was very wooden and not one of them for any emotional connection to encourage investment in the story.

The dialogue continues to be poor and clichéd, even given the allowances for anything lost in translation.

Overall I'm left with a sense of disappointment and if anyone wants to read Michele Giuttari's books, this is definitely not the one to pick.

[JS · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the previous Giuttari bovels, this is really quite weak, but there's enough to keep you reading. The usual main character is a minor part of this, there are many other officials who blend into each other (the Americans Dick and Rusty are clichés) and desciptions of the people are often basic or dire. This is not to do with the translation. People are tall, small, and wear this and that: they are not real people. 'Being left-handed, he carried his gun on the left'. Why would offices in southern Italy 'sit in silence, like metro passengers during the rush hour'? Other descriptions are of the bleeding obvious. Read the previous three.

[Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing! Obviously as an Italian crime writer, he has a message to put over about the Mafia but somewhere (perhaps in the translation), I lost the point. It seems to jump about and there was an awful lot of detectives, American and Italian,' in charge'. I eventually did not know who the main character was - both goodies and baddies!

[Merrilie Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was a bit complicated ! Had to resort to writing all the names, ranks, country, on a list to sort everyone out ! It was enjoyable though especially the descriptions of San Piero d'Aspromonte and interesting to read about the Calabrian honour system. A good read whilst nursing a rotten cold.

[Jane Crampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a real fan of Michele Giuttari but I've not enjoyed this book as much as the others in this series. Don't get me wrong the plot and characterisations are excellent but it was a bit jumpy which made it confusing at times.

[Fay Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story although initially I had to keep reminding myself who was who and in which police department and, I expected a slightly different ending, or rather, the story being wrapped up in a different way.

[Jeane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! The kind of book that you think about during the middle of you work and want to continue reading.
This is the first story which is set between New York and Italy, but it was done really well and smooth.

[Mark Rudd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather dull. Too much police politics and too many characters which made it hard to follow.

[Sreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty muddy and hard to follow, disappointing.

[Miss J C Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the crossover with New York

[Steven Haythorne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Intriguing beginning which spiralled into a dull, plodding storyline. Lacked the charm and wit of a Camilleri. Very disappointing.

[Catherine Pinkett · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok read. Didn't feel invested in any of the characters. Not interested enough to read this series

[Chris McGarrry · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant book

[Ayelet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read but I didn't really care about the characters. There were just too many of them and the story itself wasn't that interesting.

[Alison Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could hardly put this down. Really exciting, a great read.

[Windy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read the previous one in this series. Can't say I enjoyed this as much. Ferrara isn't in it much and there were a lot of characters I found it difficult to keep track.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many different agencies and characters involved for me to follow the action easily. Some obvious traitors as well.

[Dana Delamar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've liked Giuttari's other books far more. I think this one suffered from too many characters. We spend very little time in any one person's head, and there are so many folks involved on the law enforcement side that it's hard to care about any of them, other than Ferrara, since he was the main character in Giuttari's other books. And even then, he's hardly in this book, and I missed him.

I also had some definite issues with the editing in this book (Ferrara is spelled "Ferrari" at least twice, Colonel Trimarchi alternates between Captain Trimarchi and his correct title, there are many instances of "he" where it's unclear who it's referring to, etc.) and the translation seems dull, particularly the dialogue. A number of the details about New York are off; I don't know of any NYPD detectives who have drivers, and I highly doubt they're allowed to smoke in their offices. Plus, I have a hard time believing the AD of the FBI's NYC office would have enough money to afford an apartment with a view of Central Park.

All that aside, the story gets much better when it gets to Calabria; the descriptions of the countryside were well done and the secretiveness of the 'Ndrangheta and their mentality were portrayed well. This was one book where I wish we'd spent far more time among the criminals, because they were more interesting.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who hadn't already read the rest, because this isn't a good introduction to the series. Any of the others are much better places to start.

[Sidna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Giuttari's writing, but I gave this book only three stars because the writing is not great. I wonder if it suffers from being translated from the original Italian into English.

I can never figure out why he titles his books "A Murder" or "A Death" when several people are killed. Although the title of this book is "A Death in Calabria," the murders take plac in New York. The convoluted plot leads back to the Mafia in Italy and our friend Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara of Italy's elite Anti-Mafia Investigation Department becomes involved in the investigation, along with the FBI and other police forces.

Even though the wording was awkward at times, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading.

[Leslie Zampetti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Signor Giuttari's! Much more of a thriller than a true mystery, Ferrara is back - but he's been transferred to Rome. However, the action moves almost immediately to Calabria and there's plenty of Machiavellian schemes by both the 'Ndrangheta and the higher-ups at the Department of the Interior. Poor Petra, Ferrara's wife barely makes a cameo, and her already thin figure is reduced to a stereotype.

I'm definitely going to find these in the original Italian. Even if the prose isn't the fault of the translation, this doesn't read as well as Giuttari's earlier work. It feels rushed, almost like a good draft rather than a final book.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather misleading title, as it is actually about seven deaths in New York. In fact the whole first section is set in New York and Michele Ferrara does not appear until quite a way into the story. The Calabrian background, with its own version of organised crime and code of honour, is interesting. The action moves from New York back to rural Calabria; Ferrara, who is away from his usual post working in Rome, is assigned to the case which takes him back to his roots. All the time with these books you wonder, owing to the author's background, how much is fiction or at least how realistic the scenarios are - presumably quite a lot. Good on the whole, though there are some loose ends.

[Pirate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad thriller by one of Italy's most decorated detectives, mind you it was an English translation. Starts off extremely well and keeps going at an excellent pace but something doesn't quite click, perhaps too many main characters vying for space, with some disappearing altogether without much explanation and it isn't to do with the ever rising body count. The main female character is extremely good, and merits persisting with the book till the end. Also a revealing insight into the shadowy workings of the N'Drangheta less globally known than the Mafia or their 'cousins' the Camorra.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's so hard for me to give a book 2 stars, really. I mean, I try to find the best I can about a book before I rate it. Sadly, there wasn't much to like about this one, and I feel badly but hey, what can you do?

For a more complete review combining his other books A Death in Tuscany and Death of a Mafia Don, you can click through here.

[Callum Clement · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as I loved all the others in the Ferrara series. This one was unsatisfying & I'm glad I didn't start with this one, otherwise I would never have continued with the rest. Genuinely a good story but clunky, awkward dialogue & two-dimensional characters make it less than it should be. Maybe it loses something in the translation but I think its just a poor, token effort from Giuttari who has proven to be capable of much better.

[Tracey Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by the author and sorry to say will probably be the last. I struggled to get through it, hoping it would improve, but no such luck. Apart from the obvious Italian names which I found difficult to grasp, the plot just wasn't going anywhere, in fact I'm amazed a book has been produced from such lack of substance. As for the lead Detective, well he hardly featured in the book at all. I gave it a two star as I am feeling generous!

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are too many characters, and few of them become real people. Even the details the author includes in the story that are supposed to flesh out the key characters are banal and don't really tell you anything about who they are. The plot is also very confusing, with too much talking in code with no other explanation. Its hard to imagine that Giuttari is really so well respected as a writer in Europe. He compares poorly with most English and American mystery writers.

[Carole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the previous books. The story was fragmented and confusing, too many incidental characters that were hard to keep track of, hints about a sub-plot that are never followed through. Ferrera only has a small part in the story and it could have been written without him at all. Disappointing.