Russell James has been named “the Godfather of Noir” by Ian Rankin. Russell writes crime novels - about criminals and victims, not the cozy procedural or whodunnit. He is the editor of Great British Fictional Detectives.
Having a
background as a long-serving Italian prosecutor in organized crime cases has
always given Carofiglio a head start on any other writer tackling the tortuous
in-fighting between high-level criminals and the Italian legal system.
His series hero, Guido Guerrieri, is usually the defending counsel, and in this
latest (originally 2014) outing he is retained by a judge accused of taking
bribes to throw cases. In real life Carofiglio knows exactly how such
cases would be investigated and resolved, and that perhaps is not an advantage
here. Too often he lets Guerrieri’s characteristic musings give way to
thinly disguised lectures and expositions which hold up the action and slow the
story.
There’s plenty to work with.
Guerrieri himself is both credible and interesting company (and yes, he still
has that punchbag in his flat), the judge is well-drawn and, from the outset,
has you and Guerrieri wondering “did he, didn’t he?”, and the lawyer’s leather-clad
sidekick, Annapaola Doria, brightens every scene that she appears in.
This is not a bad read by any means, but if you haven’t read Carofiglio before
(which you should) I’d suggest you start with another title.
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