Australian writer Marshall Brown has captured the Italian carbinieri so well it was a surprise to me that he wasn't Italian himself! Fans of Aurelio Zen will love this. ( )

It is always very nice to run across a new author to me and an excellent protagonist in Inspector Anders of the Rome police force. What a gem of a book! ( )

The crime thriller, especially involving all things mafia, is not my normal fare--I tend to stick to mystery whodunit or whydunit books--but I really enjoyed this crime adventure set in southern Italy which introduces Inspector Anders of the Ministry of the Interior in Rome. Anders has been sent to the area to do an open-and-shut investigation on the death on another investigator sent to whitewash the death of a Judge who had been presiding over the trial set to uncover extensive corruption in the provincial government. His orders were clear: Write the report supporting the government's position that anachists were responsible for the 2 deaths. Everyone involved knows this is not true but no one is about to take on the mafia and meet certain death.

How Anders interacts with the underground group fighting the terrorists and with the various factions of the mafia make for an interesting read. Anders himself is fully drawn with interests outside of his duties, including a love life that gravitates toward older, experienced women. His wooden leg, acquired heroically years ago in the line of duty, adds another note of interest.

If you're looking for a different take on the police procedural, I highly recommend this novel. ( )

Inspector Anders is sent from Rome to a city in the south, to investigate the murder of a magistrate, who was investigating the murder of a judge, who was investigating the mafia. Everyone wants a quick and simple result, namely that the murder was the work of anarchists. Nearing retirement, and tired of the police game, Anders himself wants to keep it simple too. But of course, he gets sucked in by the widow of the judge. This is not a whodunnit. It is something of a "whydunnit", but it is the characterisation and motivation of the protagonists, especially Anders, which keeps the reader's interest. Despite some rather unlikely plotting at the end, this is great. [Jan 2001] ( )