The
Marshal's Own Case
A
Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia Mystery
Magdalen
Nabb
Soho
Crime (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-531-8 (1569475318)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-531-7 (9781569475317)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $13.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): The Marshal must leave his snug world, the carabinieri
station at the Pitti Palace, and look for a criminal in the shadowy
world of prostitutes, their pimps, and their tricks in a case that
nobody else wants to touch.
No one believes he can navigate in this milieu, much less identify a
killer, but once again he confounds them.
Review: The
Marshal's Own Case is,
chronologically by original publication date, the seventh mystery in
this series by the late Magdalen Nabb featuring Florence Marshal
Salvatore Guarnaccia. Soho Press is reissuing some of the earlier books
in this wonderful series.
The Station Pitti outside Florence, Italy, is a quiet location where no
more is expected of the Marshal than to keep order in the district,
settle disputes between arguing neighbors, organize security for
exhibitions, and the like. Now, much to the surprise of the Marshal,
his captain gives him a new assignment. He is to lead his own
investigation into the murder and mutilation of a woman’s
body found in plastic garbage bags. The body, it turns out, is that of
a transsexual. The Marshal, content with his self-effacing job, must
now venture away from his sheltered world in Pitti Palace to inquire
about, and seek out, a criminal in the poorly lit and murky hangouts
where prostitutes, drug dealers, tricks and pimps rendezvous.
The Marshal, his wife Teresa, and their two teen age sons Giovanni and
Toto, live in a small home behind the Pitti Palace. The boys are
typical middle school students, needing a little prodding to study more
and trying to keep out of trouble. Toto of late, however, is doing
poorly in school, and has joined up with the
“wrong” crowd, or so his teacher says. This problem
started after the Marshal received his orders from the Captain to head
up his own investigation into the murder of the transsexual. Guarnaccia
had little time for the boys after he became involved in the
investigation. He thought the idea of him leading men in an
investigation was ridiculous. He wasn’t a detective. In fact,
he had never been trained for such an assignment. Even though he was
good at observations and did not miss much, he doesn't consider himself
very smart and certainly cannot articulate very well. When starting on
the exploration of clues, for example, he was unaware of the difference
between a transsexual and a transvestite. He must enter a world he knew
very little about. When a transsexual is arrested for the brutal
slaying and mutation, the Marshal has a difference of opinion. Though
all the clues point to this person, the Marshal remembers seeing
something, somewhere, or hearing someone somewhere, which would prove
the man was not guilty. He is limited to the time that he has to
remember what he had seen or heard and provide the proof. Can he do it
before the innocent man, at least one innocent in the
Marshal’s mind, is confined to a life in prison?
The
Marshal's Own Case is a
stirring tale of a man devoted to his family and his job, but whose
world is altered by a responsibility he feels he is incapable of
handling. He knows he must, however. His wife understands, but his
children are confused. He is faced, for possibly the first time in his
career, with the need to balance his home life with his mission at
work. With The
Marshal's Own Case, Nabb has
crafted an excellent story, deeply expressive characters with
conflicted emotions, and above all a first-rate mystery.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Marshal's Own Case and to Soho Crime for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Marshal's Own Case? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Death
of
an
Englishman
Scribner (Hardcover), November 1982
ISBN-10: 0-684-17757-9 (0684177579)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-17757-1 (9780684177571)
Death
of a Dutchman
Scribner (Hardcover), March 1983
ISBN-10: 0-684-17847-8 (0684178478)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-17847-9 (9780684178479)
Death
in
Springtime
Scribner (Hardcover), May 1984
ISBN-10: 0-684-18133-9 (0684181339)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18133-2 (9780684181332)
Death
in
Autumn
Scribner (Hardcover), June 1985
ISBN-10: 0-684-18337-4 (0684183374)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18337-4 (9780684183374)
The
Marshal and
the Murderer
Scribner (Hardcover), December 1987
ISBN-10: 0-684-18884-8 (0684188848)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18884-3 (9780684188843)
The
Marshall and
the Madwoman
Scribner (Hardcover), December 1988
ISBN-10: 0-684-18984-4 (0684189844)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18984-0 (9780684189840)
The
Marshal's Own Case
Scribner (Hardcover), July 1990
ISBN-10: 0-684-19201-2 (0684192012)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-19201-7 (9780684192017)
The
Marshal Makes His Report
HarperCollins (Hardcover), September 1992
ISBN-10: 0-06-016914-1 (0060169141)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-016914-5 (9780060169145)
The Marshal at the Villa Torrini
HarperCollins (Hardcover), July 1994
ISBN-10: 0-06-016915-X (006016915X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-016915-2 (9780060169152)
The
Monster of
Florence
Never published in the US
Property
of Blood
Soho Crime (Hardcover), September 2001
ISBN-10: 1-56947-251-3 (1569472513)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-251-4 (9781569472514)
Some
Bitter Taste
Soho Crime (Hardcover), October 2002
ISBN-10: 1-56947-317-X (156947317X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-317-7 (9781569473177)
The
Innocent
Soho Crime (Hardcover), October 2005
ISBN-10: 1-56947-414-1 (1569474141)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-414-3 (9781569474143)
Vita
Nuova
Soho Crime (Hardcover), June 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-493-1 (1569474931)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-493-8 (9781569474938)
Omnimystery
keywords for The Marshal's Own Case
...
Location(s) referenced: Florence, Italy.
