Rating 5-Stars
Professor Tullio Iovine del Castello, chair of gynecology at the university suddenly takes a dive out the topmost window from his office building, but the investigation reveals that he didn’t jump; somebody threw him. Someone who is big and strong enough to physically throw him through a window. Now it’s up to Commissario Ricciardi and Brigadier Maione to discover whom the murderer is. The trail leads to several suspects, a gangster known as the Wolf, a huge and strong man, whose wife died at the hands of the doctor during childbirth; he had vowed to kill the professor. Another suspect is the son of a competing doctor; also a huge, strong man. The professor had wronged them, and there was a letter of warning from the father. Yet, to prove either is the murderer it will be a hard case of unraveling real evidence to prove which one.
This was another fantastic trail of crime in 1930s Naples, by the chief investigator cursed with “sight” that reveals the final moments of the victim, and their last words. Although those words don’t point to the murderer, they do reveal final thoughts, and Commissario Ricciardi must ponder their meaning while speaking with witnesses and suspects in the case. The characters capture the reader from the start, and take them on the journey to find the answer to the riddle. Personally, I think this is the best series coming out of Italy. I love the characters, and the writing of Maurizio de Giovanni, and have enjoyed every novel by this fine author so far. Highly recommended for mystery lovers.
