Review: The Second Life of Inspector Canessa by Roberto Perrone

Synopsis: Family secrets, terrorist plots and the return of a legendary cop: a ferociously paced noir thriller from one of Italy’s top crime writers, and the second book in Pushkin Press’s collaboration with Walter Presents.

Annibale Canessa didn’t want to go back to his old life. When everything went wrong in 1984, he traded his brutal, exciting career in the Carabinieri for paradise in San Fruttuoso. He started swimming in the bay at dawn and helping his elderly aunt run a small restaurant. His life was calm.

But some shattering news pulls him back in - his estranged brother has been found dead; lying beside him, the body of an ex-terrorist, a man Canessa himself caught. Back in Milan, Canessa must pursue old connections and unsolved crimes, which draw him ever deeper into the underworld he thought he’d left behind…

Loved it!

I am really getting into crime /detective /  thriller / noir fiction set outside of the standard locations of the UK and USA.  And this one by Perrone is no exception to the great books I have been reading.

The synopsis covers it all: retired cop returns to avenge the killing of his estranged brother and work out the link with acts of terrorism from thirty years previous, and hence the back and forth with the timeline.

We are introduced to a number of characters early on, and it is only as we slowly progress, does their relevance to the narrative become apparent (I kept a list to keep track!).  Many of these are not nice folks - and that is the aim of the author, I think, to provide varying shades of good and bad (and some downright evil), with which to demonstrate the blurred lines and vagaries of what is right and what is just.  Even Canessa himself reminds me of "Dirty Harry" - a no-nonsense, ultimately good guy, who believes that if you shake the tree hard enough, the rotten fruit will eventually fall.

As I mentioned, I loved it. For me, it had all the required elements: crime, mystery, history, passion, power, corruption, secrets, revenge, intriguing characters, action, resolution.

Review: The German Client by Bruno Morchio

Synopsis: Private investigator Bacci Pagano can’t resist taking the bait when his new client dangles a check with too many zeros. He should have known that where there’s bait, there’s always a hook.

In a hospital corridor, Bacci Pagano is keeping watch over Jasmìne Kilamba. If she lives, her testimony will shatter a notorious human trafficking ring. Seemingly out of nowhere, he is approached by an elderly German named Kurt Hessen who is searching for his Italian half-brother. Despite his better judgment, Pagano accepts the job. So many things, good and evil, happened when the Nazis occupied Genoa in 1944, what did it matter now? But it matters very much to someone and Pagano finds himself plunged into a world of old secrets and new lies in this wartime thriller where the the bill for the sins of the past has come due . . . with interest. 

The novel is set in Genoa, in the industrial (working class) suburb of Sestri Ponente - in both time frames. What was life really like for those who endured the wartime conditions under both the Italian Fascists and Germans.

When Mussolini was removed from power in 1943, Italy signed the Armistice of Cassabile, ending its war with the Allies. However, German forces shortly succeeded in taking control of northern and central Italy, creating the Italian Social Republic (RSI), with Mussolini installed as leader after he was rescued by German paratroopers. The Germans, often helped by Fascists (Blackshirts), committed several atrocities against Italian civilians and troops. As result, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army was created to fight against the RSI and its German allies, while other Italian troops, loyal to Mussolini, continued to fight alongside the Germans in the National Republican Army. 

For the people living under this regime, brutality (including assault, imprisonment, torture and death), sacrifice, guilt and fear, oppression, betrayal and collaboration, hunger and rationing was commonplace. Many found work in the industries geared towards to the war effort in order to supplement their meagre resources - 1944 would see an incredibly harsh winter and fuel supplies were non-existent. People did what they could to survive. One of Morchio's character laments that "... as long as the war lasts, no one has the luxury of shame .."  

However, it wasn't long before civilians were being rounded up and sent off to work in Germany; others just "disappeared". And as resistance grew and more people joined the partisans, the retaliation by the occupying forces increased in its repressive brutality. The published order by the German Commandant, General Kesselring, was that for every German killed by partisans 10 Italians selected at random would be shot. 

The Italian Communist Party was also seen as a counter to the prevailing fascism - their task was to:

• attack and annihilate in every way officers, soldiers, material, deposits of Hitler's armed forces;
• attack and annihilate in every way people, places, properties of fascists and traitors who collaborate with the occupying Germans;
• attack and annihilate in every way war industries, communication systems and everything that might help to war plans of Nazi occupants.

Of the Italian Resistance Groups, the Gruppi di Azione Patriottica ("Patriotic Action Groups") or simply GAP, established small cells whose main purpose was to unleash urban terror through bomb attacks against fascists, Germans and their supporters. However, another of their tasks was the "elimination of enemies especially heinous", such as torturers, spies and provocateurs. They operated independently in case of arrest or betrayal of individual elements. In Morchio's story, the Patriotic Action Group (PAG) is the equivalent.

On April 26 Genoa fell, with 14,000 Italian partisans forcing the city's surrender and taking 6,000 German soldiers as prisoners.  Many veteran partisans today often deny that a civil war took place in Italy during World War II. However, a clear and simple version of events is not possible as many people made sacrifices to pursue their goals, aspirations and ideals.

When a dying Professor from Germany - Kurt Messen - seeks out Bacci Pagano, the investigator is forced to dig deep into the long concealed wartime memories of family and friends in order to find some semblance of truth and help reunite lost siblings. 

From this point onwards, the narrative alternates back and forth from 1944 to modern day, with Pagano's in the first person, and that of the partisan Tilde, in the third person. But nothing is ever that simple.  With little to go on and brick walls going up left, right and centre, Pagnano, distracted by the brutal assault of girlfriend Jasmine, must find answers before time runs out (for the dying Professor).  

When speaking with one of the old partisans, Bacci muses: "... I'm starting to think that there's something really dirty behind all this and your terrified that it will all come out, even after all these years .."

Long held secrets are slowly being teased out until we reach the final denouement - and for Pagano, things finally make sense.

This is a great read. Originally entitled "Rossoamaro", this is the sixth in a series of elevn (or twelve), and the first one I head read. Whilst not fully conversant with the background of the character Bacci Pagano, there is enough here to weave a wonderful tale. And - of course - make you want to seek out more in the series!

See also:

The Guardian - A House In The Mountain (review)

Review: The Countesses of Castello

The Countesses of Castello by Milena Agus is a simple and yet intriguing tale of three sisters - the countesses of the title - and their search for that which will make them complete. The setting of the novel, the Countesses' palazzo, reminded me of the opening scenes of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" in which we take a panoramic view of the residents and yet we do not delve too deeply into their lives. The focus of the novel is on the three sisters - Noemi, Maddalena, and the Countess Ricotta.

I was honored to have received this book through a Goodreads giveaway and am glad I entered. I highly recommend both the book and the author, Milena Agus.

Other Works by Milena include:

* The House in Via Manno

* Madame Agnese

* La Contessa di Ricotta

About the Author:

Milena Agus was born in Genoa to Sardinian parents, and now lives in Cagliari where she teaches Italian and history at a secondary school. The House in Via Manno (published in Italy as Mal di pietre), her second novel, won three Italian literary awards, and has been a bestseller in Italy, France, and Germany. In December 2008, Milena Agus was awarded the prestigous Zerilli-Marimò Prize in New York. A film adaptation of the novel is in production.