Magdalen Nabb

Advantages: Believable characters, great style, great story
Disadvantages: Has unfulfilled potential

...This is a deceptive novel. No, I didn't just spell "detective" wrong - what I mean is that The Innocent, by Magdalen Nabb, is an intelligent crime novel with a touch of thriller masquerading as something lighter and unimportant. Her style is succinct without lacking detail and she doesn't feel the need - as some writers of the same genre do - to exaggerate the grittiness and negativity of the setting. In fact, this novel is set in glorious Florence during a particularly hot summer and the contrast serves just as well as (if not better than) the archetypal sinister housing estates or harsh, dark city streets. The action begins with the discovery of a body in Boboli Gardens. It was in a pond choked with plants, so by the time it's discovered, the face and hands have been eaten away by the fish. Obviously, this presents some difficulty... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: good story, good evocation of Florence
Disadvantages: not overly thrilling

...In the 1980s I used to go to Florence quite often, my husband (then bf) studied there. On the way to the sights in the centre I always passed the bookshop Feltrinelli on Via Cavour (near the Cathedral), I *had* to go in, bookshops attract me magically, even if unfortunately I can only talk Italian and read newspapers, the language of literature is too difficult for me. On the first floor they have a corner of English/German/French literature for peeps like me; usually the selection in overseas bookshops is dull, it´s the classics one reads at uni and doesn´t want to read again and translations of the latest thrillers from the US of A. I was lucky though, I discovered the author Magdalen Nabb there and then, one of the group of British and American authors who´ve fallen in love with Italy and either lived there for some years or have... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: The setting
Disadvantages: Weak plot, simplistic characters

...Introduction There has been a spate of crime fiction novels based in Italy recently, both by Italian authors translated into English and by English authors basing their novels in Italy. I think the interest has probably risen from Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen novels and other authors, such as Donna Leon, are stepping on to the bandwagon. However, Magdalen Nabb started her Marshall Guarnaccia series with Death of an Englishman back in 1981, long before Michael Dibdin. The author Magdalen Nabb is an interesting woman. She was a potter who became disillusioned with her life in the UK and decided to move to Florence with her son, despite not speaking a word of Italian. Once settled, she decided to stay and started a new career as a writer of detective fiction and children's books. Although her main character is Italian, her first few books... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful