Death and the Olive Grove

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The sequel to the critically acclaimed Death in August, which finds Inspector Bordelli facing a nightmarish murder mysteryApril 1964, and the cruelest month is breeding bad weather and worse news. And plenty of disturbing news is coming to Florence detective Inspector Bordelli. Bordelli’s friend, Casimiro, insists he’s discovered the body of a man in a field above Fiesole. Bordelli races to the scene,but doesn’t find any sign of a corpse.Only a couple of days later, a little girl is found at Villa Ventaglio. She has been strangled, and there is a horrible bite mark on her belly. Then another young girl is found murdered,with the same macabre signature.And meanwhile Casimiro has disappeared without a trace.This new investigation marks the start of one of the darkes tperiods of Bordelli’s life: a nightmare without end, as black as the sky above Florence.**From BooklistVichi’s Florence in the 1960s, as seen in his Inspector Bordelli series, feels like a tour through Dante’s Inferno—the city is still pockmarked from WWII, and the inhabitants of the neighborhoods Bordelli travels through are filled with gang members, ­prostitutes, petty thieves, smugglers, and, in the latest, a killer who is evil incarnate. Inspector Bordelli, himself a veteran still shaken by his experiences fighting for both Axis and Allies in the war, is melancholy and reflective, a perfect guide through this world. Here a string of sad discoveries starts when Bordelli’s friend Casimiro reports finding the body of a man in an olive grove outside Florence. Nothing is there when the inspector and Casimiro return to the scene. Then Casimiro goes missing and is found grotesquely slain. This is followed by a heart-stopping series of child kidnappings. Vichi weaves all these strands together into a complicated tale that keeps the suspense mounting, and his incorporation of his Italian father’s war stories into the text makes a wonderful addition to the novel. --Connie Fletcher Review“Bordelli is stubborn, womanless, cynical and impatient,but strangely appealing.” (The Times (London)) “Discovering a new detective is a bit like making a new friend. A real find for anyone who likes their crime novels atmospheric, discursive, humorous, and thought-provoking.” (The Guardian) “Over the course of his police procedurals, Vichi shows us ever more secret and dark sides to an otherwise sunny and open city. But his happiest creation remains the character of Inspector Bordelli, a disillusioned anti-hero who is difficult to forget.” (Andrea Camilleri)