19 July 2013

Forgotten Book: DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN, Magdalen Nabb

My plan this year for my contributions to Friday's Forgotten Books hosted by Pattinase is to feature books I read 20 years ago - in 1993- from the records I have in my "little green book", which I started in 1975.
In 1993 I read 111 books and was pretty well addicted to crime fiction by then.

This week 20 years ago I had just finished reading  DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN by Magdalen Nabb, published in 1982. There were 14 in the series beginning in 1981, with the last published after the author's death.

Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri, is a Sicilian, stationed in Florence.

DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN was #2 in Nabb's Marshal Guarnaccia series.
Summoned by an aged woman to investigate mysterious noises in the vacant flat next to hers, Marshal Guarnaccia discovers a dying Dutch jeweller. The old lady had known him when he was a boy growing up in Florence. Could he have returned to the family home just to commit suicide? Or could the man be the victim of a cunning murderer?

Magdalen Nabb's (1947-2007) novels are all set in Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. They are inspired by the place, its history, current events and by the people. There is an element of crime in all the stories. Florence does not have the high murder rate of, say, an American city like Baltimore but it does have a history of spectacular, sometimes baroque murders. Most of the novels are based on studies of real crimes. In some cases, the research involved is extensive and the collaboration of the Florence carabinieri is essential. See her website

Marshal Guarnaccia
1. Death of an Englishman (1981)
2. Death of a Dutchman (1982)
3. Death in Springtime (1983)
4. Death in Autumn (1985)
5. The Marshal and the Murderer (1987)
6. The Marshal and the Madwoman (1988)
7. The Marshal's Own Case (1990)
8. The Marshal Makes His Report (1991)
9. The Marshal at the Villa Torrini (1993)
10. The Monster of Florence (1996)
11. Property of Blood (2001)
12. Some Bitter Taste (2002)
13. The Innocent (2005)
14. Vita Nuova (2008)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kerrie - That's a series I'm not familiar with. It sounds interesting though; looks like it's time I explored it.

Clothes In Books said...

Hi Kerrie - I read this book too, probably also 20 years ago, and I remember it really well, it has stayed in my mind, I loved the sense of place and - if I remember correctly - details of funeral customs. There are some books I read last month that I remember less about: this one I found very touching. I'm glad to have been reminded of it.

skiourophile said...

I hadn't realised she'd produced so many of this series -- I think I've only read the first, and that probably as long ago as your forgotten title.

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