Book review : Scherzo by Jim Williams

Scherzo
Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice
by Jim Williams
GENRE: #Historical-mystery

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3,8 stars rounded up to 4.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYBODY !!!

A week ago I was looking for a Carnival-themed mystery or at least in which Venetian masks had an important role, given that in Italy we are celebrating Carnival ( started on January 28th and ending today February 13th, which is Mardi Gras).

I chose this book and perhaps it's the strangest mystery I've ever read and if there hadn't been some bad scenes and a couple of chapters, I could have given it 5 stars.

___THE PLOT ___
Ludovico the German, a young 21-year-old eunuch, actor and singer in 18th century Venice, is hired by a Venetian nobleman, Signor Morosini ( Mr. Morosini) as a singing teacher for his daughter and as an entertainer in evenings with guests.
One evening, after a dinner attended by several aristocratic people, he and Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher, heading home, discover a corpse with a mask and cloak, hanged from a bridge.
It soon turns out that the dead man was a nobleman, a friend of Mr. Morosini and part of an important political body, the Council of Ten, which had an important role in the management of the Republic of Venice.
Among the alleys and canals of Venice, among the gambling houses and other vices and the political and religious intrigues, in pursuit of enemies or chased by enemies, the French philosopher and his new friend Ludovico will try to unravel the mystery and bring the truth to light.

The eighteenth-century setting fascinated me and I liked the fact that an actor-singer was narrating the story even more.
The inclusion of other historical characters increased my enthusiasm for reading as I proceeded with the story told. However, as I already mentioned, I would have shortened some chapters or even avoided them altogether and I would have avoided some crude scenes in the final part.

___ WHAT I LIKED __
__LUDOVICO, THE MAIN CHARACTER__ I really liked the main character, who tells firsthand most of the events that led to the discovery of the body, its investigation and the solution.
Ludovico is a boy of only 21 years old, with a lot of life experience on his shoulders.
The fact of being a eunuch ( in those days young singers were emasculated before puberty, in order to maintain a high-pitched voice in adulthood), having had a hard life and having suffered abuse and being despised by society as a person, because neither man nor woman, did not undermine his good heart and soul.
In a story where the Venetian society of the time is portrayed at its worst, Ludovico and his humor and self-irony always managed to put me in a good mood.

___HISTORICAL FIGURES ___ The nice surprise was the participation in the story of 3 very famous historical figures, but since the whole plot takes place in the balance between truth and illusion (as is also the function of the masks), the author does not reveal the 3 official names to us well known throughout the world, but the real names of the 3 men. So if it had not been for my passion to check everything on Wikipedia, I would not have known about these 3 historical figures until the end, when the author reveals it.

- The first historical figure of the three I mentioned, leads the investigation and makes Ludovico his assistant.
I'm speaking of Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher , better known to the world as VOLTAIRE. In this book you will be able to read some of his real letters.

- Many films have been made about this historical side character. In this novel he is a good friend of Ludovico and his adventures are intertwined with some characters indirectly and directly involved in the crime.
I'm speaking of Jaque De Seingalt, a great Italian seducer and libertine, very well known to the world as CASANOVA.
In his memoirs, written in French as was the fashion of the time, they report his full name: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt.
We find some extracts right here in the story

- The third historical figure I was referring to it's someone that seems to help the investigation with his knowledge, but actually he adds even more fog and illusion to a plot that is deliberately complicated and misleading for the reader.
He has a smaller role than the others, but I liked the inclusion because in real life, he was imprisoned and died in a stronghold which is located a few kilometers from where I live and I have visited it many times. So I know this character since I was child.
I'm speaking of Signor Giuseppe Balsamo, an Italian occultist, alchemist ( and many other things, including to be a charlatan), known in the world with the name of COUNT OF CAGLIOSTRO.

__ THE INTERTWINING OF THE MYSTERY __
Although at the beginning the book started with several chapters that seemed unrelated to each other and it took me at least 15% of the novel to be able to orient myself and fully get into the story, I must admit that the mystery plot was well thought out and the author managed to connect all the threads of the canvas in a skillful way.

I happened to read some whodunits with a complicated plot, where the author himself got lost, failing in the end to give a probable solution.
This is not the case: here everything adds up and the air of confusion that reigns is only a trick of false truths and illusions that the author wants to insert into his story.

___ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED __
-- The main narrator of the whole story is the young Ludovico, but his narrations are alternated with letters from Mr. Arouet to his nephew, from Signor Feltrinelli to his sister, from an elderly countess to an old lover of hers and extracts from Monsieur Jacque De Seingalt's memoirs.
Letters and memoirs were a little too long and a bit boring to me.

-- I knew that this wasn't a cozy mystery and therefore I could expect something more raw... but there are some scenes in one of the final chapters of the book, which are truly disgusting ( they represented imaginary scenes from Hell... and that is not my cup of tea !!!).
I read them quickly, but if they hadn't been there at all I would have preferred it and also it wouldn't have damaged the intrigue and mystery.

-- The depravity of Venice at the time told in a non-vulgar but quite clear way, in long sex-scenes that I would have preferred to be shorter... it was boring

-- You will have noticed that in my review I use the words Signor and Monsieur... this is because the author himself, in his book written in English, inserts not only these two words in Italian and French, but really MANY Italian words, typical of the place and time, but also not typical (and which he could therefore translate into English), many references written in French and also in Latin.
---> I am from Italy and of course I had no problems with Italian words.I also speak French and had no problem with that either.
Luckily Latin had the translation in a note, BUT THERE WERE NO NOTES WITH TRANSLATION for the dozens and dozens of Italian words inserted... how can an English-speaking reader read a book with foreign words inserted almost on every page and of which he doesn't know the meaning?
I have read books with medieval and Victorian settings that contained a small vocabulary for the words used at that time, so that the reader could fully understand everything.
In my opinion the publisher and the writer were negligent in this case.

__ IN CONCLUSION __
If I had read a review like mine before choosing the book... I WOULDN'T HAVE READ IT, because of the things mentioned among those I didn't like... also I really hate long length books.
But I have to admit that now that I've read it, overall I liked it.
--> So before marking it on your WTR shelf or discarding it, think carefully.

NOTE : English is not my native language, I hope I was still able to explain everything in an understandable way.


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Book review : Death in Delft by Graham Brack

Death in Delft
Master Mercurius Mysteries Book 1
by Graham Brack
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was proposed and voted on in my reading group of English authors, but it was already included in my wish-list for 2 reasons:

___ 1) I love historical settings in countries on the European continent different from the usual England (which I adore, but whose I read in most books).

__2) because I really like mysteries that include historical figures in the investigations, especially if they are people with particular talents (artistic, literary, musical, etc..., in this case also scientific).
I find that the book is written in a fluent manner, above all thanks to the irony and self-irony in the language of the main character, Master Mercurius, who is the one who tells us the story in the first person.

Before telling you my opinion (according to my personal tastes of course ), here is a short PLOT:
Master Mercurius is a young Catholic priest who lives in the guise of a Protestant priest, with the approval of his archbishop, in order to take advantage of a university scholarship.
Being recognized as an exceptional student of great intelligence, he is sent to Delft, at the request of the city mayor, to direct the investigation into the disappearance of 3 children, one of whom has already been found dead.
In this mystery the young Mercurius will be joined by 2 very talented people, both of whom really lived in reality and remained in history, one for his artistic talent and the other for his scientific discoveries and for the invention of the microscope, I'm talking about : Johannes Vermeer, famous painter and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch optician and naturalist considered the father of microbiology.

__ WHAT I LIKED IN THE BOOK___

-- The MAIN CHARACTER Master Mercurius :
The young priest, despite having taken orders twice, and despite having great faith and goodness of soul, is very far from the figure of the Church that we can imagine.
He is friendly, sociable, ironic and funny in his way of thinking and talking to himself and far from being a dull-witted bigot as often happened in past eras.

Mercurius also makes no secret of the temptations that touch his thoughts and how every now and then he would prefer to avoid the long and repetitive moments of prayer that are part of a priest's routine. Even confession is not one of his favorite tasks and it is fun to see how he approaches these "annoying" situations and duties.

The author so makes a three-dimensional and really enjoyable character, which we can also identify with.

-- The 2 MAIN SIDE CHARACTERS, i.e. Vermeeer and Van Leeuwenhoek.
The author included 2 historical figures that I, as a "non-Dutch", didn't know much about.

I knew what more or less everyone knows about Vermeeer: born in Delft in the 17th century, his paintings have great value today and one of the most famous is "The Girl with a Pearl Earring".

As for Van Leeuwenhoek I have to admit that I didn't even know his name from "hearsay".

Graham Brack told us some real notions about their life (which I then expanded with Wikipedia), but above all he gave us something that no Wikipedia or biography could give us: the warmth that is released within the walls of the house with the children running and they play, the wife and mother-in-law chat, the food on the table and the festive air you breathe sharing moments of affection all together.

The writer also gives us the humanity of a father who has lost his children and suffers from missing them, holding on tightly to what remains of his family.
We are given the enthusiasm of discoveries, that enthusiasm that humanity has when it discovers a part of creation that is mostly unknown to the multitude and also the enthusiasm that people have in feeling useful for a common goal.

I know it's a fictionalized reality, but that's the beauty of fiction!

__ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED IN THE BOOK___

-- Of course I liked also the HISTORICAL PART concerning Holland in 1600 and the entire historical descriptive part of the society of the time, the way of life and the ideologies that defined the different communities of that time, but there was to much talk above all the problems and things related to religion.
Too many quotes in Latin (which in any case were then translated into English), too much digression on the settings of the religious things such as monastery life, the funeral and so on... all of this became boring in the long run.

-- The mystery itself was not engaging for me and although Mercurius' investigations are full of interrogations and testimonies, the plot did not provide twists that stunned me... there was a lack of tension.
Furthermore, perhaps I was expecting some action scenes, even small ones, but which would give a little more movement to the story...it was all too flat to me.

---- one thing then really made me angry: the ending.
WARNING SPOILER ___ MAKE SURE YOU WANT TO READ IT !___ I understand that a priest may not approve of the death penalty, but the fact that Mercurius lets the guilty person escape is just not acceptable!
The man had kidnapped 3 little girls, one was his daughter, taken from him unjustly, but he stole 2 other little girls from their parents, drugged them and one died!

That is justified by the fact that the little girl suffered from epilepsy... perhaps she would have died anyway, but perhaps not! Her parents suffered and she died far from them.
A CULPRIT DESERVES AT LEAST PRISON !!!
Drugging two innocent little girls and keeping them kidnapped because he had to find his daughter is not a justification.
______ SPOILER END___

Honestly I wonder what the hell the author was thinking when writing the end of this book...
I would have given it only one star rating, just because of this unacceptable end of the mystery.

Thanks for reading my review, of course every taste is personal, but I hope that it could still be useful for you to understand whether to choose to read this book or not.

Last note that I always insert: English is not my native language, forgive me for the errors that you surely found in my text!


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Book review : The Figaro Murders by Laura Lebow

The Figaro Murders
by Laura Lebow
Lorenzo Da Ponte Mysteries Book 1
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked everything about this mystery and would be ready to start and reading it one more time immediately!
_ 5 FULL STARS WELL DESERVED

__THE PLOT__ Vienna,1786.
Lorenzo Da Ponte, poet and opera librettist, is working for the theater of the court of Joseph II together with composers such as Mozart and Martín y Soler.
One morning he is involved with an acquaintance-friend in the search for his real mother who gave him up for adoption as soon as he was born.
Starting this research, Da Ponte finds himself involved, without his knowledge, in a murder and accused by the police of being the culprit, he has only one possibility to avoid hanging: that of discovering the real murderer, who, according to the police, is also a spy sent by the King of Prussia.
For his investigations he will have to infiltrate in disguise, into the house of an important baron, a close collaborator of the emperor.


___AN HISTORICAL MYSTERY RICH IN HISTORICAL NOTIONS, BUT NEVER BORING :
This is a mystery for those who love historical mysteries in the true sense of the word.

We are at the end of the 18th century and unlike other books in which the author limits himself to describing wigs, silver buckles and outfits, here we can fully grasp the atmosphere of the city at that time.
As we read we can see its wonderful palaces, churches and cathedral, streets and squares that still exist today.
The author inserts places and historical notions throughout the plot of the book and does so in a wise and captivating way, without ever making the reading boring and without going out of the context of the mystery (or rather of the 2 mysteries) on which our "improvised detective " is investigating.

There are many historical characters, who really existed, in the book and many of them take part in the dialogues from time to time, following the real memoirs that Da Ponte wrote and that some historical figures ( part of the characters in this novel ) wrote.
Lorenzo Da Ponte, the main character, was truly an Italian librettist who wrote the libretto for 3 of Mozart's operas, including "The Marriage of Figaro".

Just as I loved walking around the city of Vienna (where I was born and which I know quite well) with Da Ponte, so I loved being with him at the opera, while he attended the premieres, while he worked with Mozart and the actor-singers (those real people who performed at the premiere of the opera), while he compares himself with his colleagues-rivals-enemies such as Salieri, Casti and the theater director Rosenberg (all of whom really existed).

I can say that even if you are not a music expert or opera enthusiast, the plot is fascinating and interesting, there wasn't a single moment in which I was bored, I loved everything and made me want to read a biography about Joseph II and watch Mozart's and other composers operas, starting immediately with some videos on Youtube.

The whole plot of the mystery is cleverly constructed and there are at least 7 suspects and each has valid reasons to be the culprit, so it is impossible to understand the culprit before the revelation at the end of the book.

___THE MAIN CHARACTER ___ I like the protagonist. In the book he is about 37 years old and is a romantic man in love with love, who suffers from the remoteness of his hometown (from which he was exiled) and earns his living by working for the court of Vienna as poet and opera librettist.
Despite his prestigious job, he earns little and often has to deal with the reality of an expensive city.
He is often mocked by his rivals, he is humble but also confident in his artistic abilities to be able to take his victory.

He is not interested in being a detective and would really like not to have ended up in that mess, however he is man enough to keep the word given to a friend and not to betray the confidences of those he cares about even if this could put his life at risk.
The character of Lorenzo Da Ponte tells us everything in the first person and does so in an effective and engaging way, so much so that I often felt completely involved in his emotions.

Obviously this is a fiction so we must always keep this in mind, but I liked reading in the author's historical notes that the description of the character (i.e. of his way of being) was faithful to what could be intuited from his memoirs, the same it applies to some events described and actually happened and to other characters.

There is a second installment with Lorenzo Da Ponte in Vienna and I will read it as soon as possible, as I will do for another series of 2 books set in 18th century Paris (with a different main character).
However, I was very sad to discover that this good author has written nothing else and has literally disappeared (no news about her, no other books in recent years, the author's website actually no longer existing).

The author's writing is very fluent and the book can be read well in 3 or 4 days.
It took me longer because I had a bad flu and it's difficult to read with a cough, a stuffy nose and watery eyes, but I couldn't have had better company (after my 3 cats obviously).

If you are curious about a second Lorenzo Da Ponte's adventure as sleuth, you can read my review about boo #2 here:

#BOOK 2 : SENT TO THE DEVIL "Lorenzo Da Ponte Series"

Thanks for reading my review. I apologize for the errors in the text, but as always I remember that English is not my native language.


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Giveaway : February 2024 Free Printable Calendar

February 2024 free printable calendar

Hello dear friends !

The shortest month of the year has begun, but the celebrations didn't end with Christmas.

This month we have Carnival's celebration (at least as far as Italy is concerned), that started last January 28th and lasts until Mardi Gras on February 13th.

February 14th, however, is the day of all couple in love and all lovers in general and it is precisely to them that I dedicate February planning.

You can download it for free and use it as a PC desktop wallpaper or you can print it, in its original size or postcard format and use it as you prefer.

To download, simply click on the preview image and save it on your device.

@TizianaFragnerGraphic
February 2024 Calendar
Size 1634 x 1264

As for Carnival, I hope to find time to make a couple of bookmarks to download and print. I will post in the next few days.

Please forgive any errors in my text, since English is not my native tongue :-)

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Book review : Blood Lance by Jeri Westerson

Blood Lance
Crispin Guest Book #5
Medieval noir by Jeri Westerson
My rating: ★★★★★

Wow, amazing ! I really missed Crispin Guest in the last two months I dedicated to Christmas reads.

This is installment #5 in the series, but you can read it as a standalone as well ( even if I think each book it's more enjoyable if you read them all starting from the first one ) and Jeri Westerson, the author, did not disappoint me: her writing style is amazing, she manages to catapult me into the Middle Ages on the scenes described in the book.

Her wonderful descriptions are not only visual, but include all the senses: she manages to make me feel the smells, the humidity on the skin, the restorative heat of the fire, the sexual tension when there are scenes in which the nature of the man prevails Crispin, the tension in the air in moments of danger, the fear and euphoria of the characters, she manages to make me experience every action scene just as if I were on the set of a film and even, in this book, the the author managed to make me feel inside Crispin's body, as if every action, fact and sensation happened to me together with him.

The author manages to mix fictional characters together with real-life characters and against a historical background rich in details in the best way.

Before continuing, however, I must briefly talk about THE PLOT__ :
Crispin Guest is a former knight banished from the court of King Richard II as a traitor. Crispin is a courageous thirty-two-year-old and a man of honor, but he fell into a trap run by the man he admired most in the world.
That man, aware of this, asked the king for grace to save the knight from execution, but since then Crispin has lived in poverty, earning his living as "The Tracker", a kind of detective who finds missing objects, often precious relics and solves murder cases.
Over the years the Tracker, aided by his assistant Jack Tucker (former cutpurse), has earned the respect of people, both among the people and among old court friends. His exploits are often praised in London and England and in this new adventure not only will he have to solve a murder, find the spear of Longinus ( the one with which the Roman centurion struck Christ's side on the cross), help an old knight friend defending his honor, but he will also have the opportunity to feel like a knight once again and to fight valiantly.

This book, which begins immediately with energetic, well-detailed action scenes (and I often wonder if the author has taken fighting lessons, because every action is really well described), is linked through two characters (one fictional and one real historical and famous character ) that we have already met in book #1 and in book #4.

These are Philippa, the woman with whom Crispin fell in love and who he decided not to marry and Geoffrey Chaucer, knight of the Duke of Lancaster and great friend of Crispin, as well as diplomat and poet, now known as the father of English literature.

However, if you haven't read the previous books, don't worry, the whole backstory is explained in a concise but satisfying way, but if you started the series from the beginning, then like me you will be delighted with these links.

What really made me emotional in this story, however, was the part in which Crispin, after 10 years, finally, even if briefly, returns to being a knight. ( I don't mark it as spoiler because this statement will certainly fill you with curiosity... and it's not as you're already imagining).

The emotion is perceived by the reader through Crispin's heartbeat, which at first finds himself in a dream, a surreal scene, then gradually realizes what is happening.
WARNING SPOILER ___ He feels the fear of death within himself and in a few minutes he thinks back to the things he still has to accomplish and finish. But he also feels happiness in being able to die the way he feels he is truly himself.

Then little by little the prospect of death transforms into the belief of making it, the sound of the excited crowd, the announcement of the start of the joust, the clattering of the horses, reliving gestures and emotions of the past creates euphoria and adrenaline within him (or and the piece of sacred spear?)... ___ SPOILER END the last chapters were really exciting and kept me in suspense, it was wonderful!

If on the one hand I found it unfair that Crispin faced yet another dangerous situation to help someone WARNING SPOILER ___ who truly proved to be an undeserving coward, on the other hand I am happy that he was able to once again be part of the world that so much he loved and that Jack, his pupil, was able to see not only the fullness of his courage and honor (two things he always demonstrated) but also at the height of his fighting skills. I am happy that he was able to demonstrate his full value even to his old court friends (not that he needed it and he was actually incognito, but I was very happy about it as if Crispin was my best friend or even my love ). ___ SPOILER END

But the emotions of the book do not end here, the most emotional among you will also shed a few tears... after all, life includes not only victories, but also pains and although this is a historical fiction novel, everything is as it could be in the reality: pain and joy mix in a completely believable way and the characters are three-dimensional, so much so that now I will miss them until the next book.

__ REGARDING THE HISTORICAL PART ON THE RELIC __ perhaps in this book the presence of the power of the relic that everyone wants to take possession of is less felt, but in the epilogue the author explains many interesting things about the various spears considered the real one, which entered the side of Jesus on the cross and of each of them, J. Westerson briefly illustrates the history and the place where it is preserved.

Also very interesting is the theme of the health disorder from which soldiers and fighters of all eras suffer, but which in medieval times was ignorantly defined as cowardice.
Actually I hadn't considered this issue until I read the writer's epilogue, but then I realized that in fact the problem of Crispin's knight friend was precisely that.

Recommended book? YES, OF COURSE !! I love Crisping Guest and his stories and I thank Jeri Westerson for writing them!

Thank you for reading my review and please forgive any errors in my text because English is not my language :-)


------> Each book is readable as a standalone, but if you read them in order your enjoyment will be doubled !

If you want to know more about PREVIOUS BOOKS, you can read my reviews here :

BOOK #1 "Veil of Lies" :

BOOK #2 "Serpent in the Thorns" :

BOOK #3 "The Demon's Parchment" :

BOOK #4 "Troubled Bones" :



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Book review : The Christmas Tart by Mary Jo Putney

The Christmas Tart by Mary Jo Putney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a lovely Christmas novella !

___THE PLOT___ Nicole is wrongly accused of theft and fired a few days before Christmas.
Philip's friends try to cheer up their friend by giving him female company for the night. When they mistakenly mistake Nicole, who is wandering cold in Covent Garden, for a prostitute, they offer her money for a night with their friend. At first scandalized, shortly after Nicole accepts in order to have the money to feed herself and the little kitten she picked up on the street... but she is a good girl and when Philip realizes this he doesn't want to take advantage of her, he decides to help the young girl instead...


___MY OPINION___ Read it over two afternoons, it is a sweet and clean romance where are emerging feelings such as sharing ( with the people or even animals that are in need at moment ) and and of giving a chance without hastily judging by appearances.

In addition to this moral and the birth of a sweet love story, in the novel we slowly breathe in the Christmas air with the joy of preparing the decorations together, breathing in the scent of greenery in the air, savoring the mulled cider in front of the fireplace, while the cold rain pours down outside and...of course the kiss under the mistletoe.

I would like a series to be born from these two characters where their love is consolidated and both are involved in sparkling adventures and perhaps mysteries (since the novel was published recently, in October 2023, I hope that the author collects my suggestion...and I would also like the little cat Merkle included in the novels).

Thanks everybody for reading my opinion and please be lenient with my text since English is not my mother tongue :-)

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Book review : A Coin of Edward VII by Fergus Hume

A Coin of Edward VII by Fergus Hume
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing! __ 5 full stars is my rating __

It's been a long time since I read a classic detective story so engaging and with such an intricate plot full of twists that made me turn the pages one after the other with such great curiosity and interest that I've been tempted several times to go and see the last pages who was the culprit.

___ THE PLOT__ The story begins on Christmas Day in the Morleys' living room, where while the children play happily and someone exchanges greetings and gifts, the village gossip gives us a first glimpse of the situation.
But what she paints is only the facade of fake truth, soon a threatening letter will bring to the surface real resentments which will be followed by a murder and the gears of a race against time, to find the truth, will set in motion without ever stopping until the end of the adrenaline-filled story.
---> With no doubt an unconventional "classic" mystery, and this to me is its charm!

This is a book that will be very enjoyable to those like me who love fast-paced plots, where every theory formulated by the reader is dismantled and then taken into consideration again and then refuted again by unexpected events and evidence and deceptive characters until the unthinkable.

On the contrary, those who read classic detective stories because they love their slowness and dislike action will rate this book only a few stars and will probably call it a mess... so before reading it, make sure you recognize which group of readers you belong to.

As I said, the pace is fast and despite being a classic mystery from 1903 there is a lot of action and a couple of the final chapters could easily be scenes from Mission Impossible or 007.

As for the culprit of the crime, I must admit that I guessed it from the beginning and I disliked him enormously throughout the book.
Despite this, I want to assure you that you will doubt your theory several times and all the events will involve you so much that they will make the novel enjoyable from start to finish.

___THE CHARACTERS __ Since I have already mentioned something about the culprit I will start from this character:

1) THE CULPRIT __ I immediately understood who WARNING : SPOILER ___ [ he was because his attitude was too weird: first extremely affectionate, then a sudden fury against a person who up until two minutes before he professed to admire...He was the one who found the murder weapon and formulated the accusatory hypotheses .

Same affectionate and then accusatory attitude and then again too kind towards the victim ]___SPOILER END I think the author planned to make us understand who the culprit could be and then surprise us with an unpredictable plot full of twists and turns, where the Investigations are not carried out only by the detective, but by several people, some of whom are truly unlikely and yet astute (Mrs. Parry!)

2) THE LOCAL GOSSIP __ ok... she's a forked tongue that can destroy the most immaculate reputations, but this character really managed to surprise me and if at the beginning she could have been considered hateful, actually she is really as smart as a fox, she will even end up being nice , because she is the one who knows how to frame each person better than a detective and knows how to find the truth by listening in the right places and reporting the information to the right people.
She may look like a useless character, but actually her role is fundamental to the investigation.

3) THE MAN IN LOVE, THE MAIN CHARACTER ___ I like him! Handsome, kind and friendly, he is also a young man who will not break his word even if it breaks his heart.
Against everyone's thoughts and against all the evidence that could confirm the guilt of his beloved, he will always behave in a correct and polite manner, he will put his reputation and his life at risk until he reaches his desired goal. The best character in the whole book. A hero.

4) THE DETECTIVE ___ character not at the peak of intelligence and perspicacity but not stupid either. He is a man who knows how to recognize his own errors in judgment and although he is helped in the investigations by several characters (each of them manages to solve parts of the puzzle until reaching the final truth) he is still a solid figure who can be counted on.
I liked the fact that he is not at all presumptuous and that he has never created problems for those who tried to find the truth on their own; on the contrary, he accepted the collaboration with the intelligence of those who are really interested in the truth and not to personal prestige WARNING : SPOILER ___ [ although in the end Mr. Ware grants him the glory of having solved the case, as it should be ]___SPOILER END )

5) OTHER SUPPORTING CHARACTERS __ around the main protagonists there are other supporting characters, each of whom plays a fundamental role both in the crimes related to the crime being investigated and in the investigations.
The characters are all well delineated in character even when they only make a few appearances or have a few lines... the author made them real by highlighting the characteristic that distinguished them from the others (eccentricity, goodness, wickedness, cunning , impulsiveness, greed, intelligence, cowardice... of each one we can clearly see the most distinctive traits of their character).
In some dramatic scenes perhaps some sound a little bit theatrical, but this reminded me of Wilkie Collins' novels and so I liked it.

Overall I liked everything: plot, characters, ending (except that I also wanted humiliation for the culprit), the type of writing and the exciting atmosphere given by the race against time.

This was the first novel I read by Fergus Hume and it certainly won't be the last!

Thanks for reading my review and please, forgive my bad English cause it's not my mother tongue.


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leggi la mia recensione !

La morte bussa a Natale by Fergus Hume

Fantastico! 5 stelle piene è il mio voto

Era da tanto che non leggevo un giallo classico così coinvolgente e dalla trama così intricata e piena di twist da farmi girare le pagine una dietro l'altra con una curiosità e un interesse così grossi che più volte sono stata tentata di andare a vedere nelle ultime pagine chi era il colpevole. 

____ LA TRAMA ___ La storia comincia il giorno di Natale nel salotto dei Morley, dove mentre i bambini giocano allegramente e qualcuno si scambia auguri e regali, la pettegola, del villaggio ci regala un primo quadro della situazione. Ciò che la signora dipinge però, è solo la facciata di una finta verità, ben presto una lettera minatoria porterà a galla veri rancori a cui seguirà un omicidio e gli ingranaggi di una corsa contro il tempo, per trovare la verità, si metteranno in moto senza mai fermarsi fino alla fine dell'adrenalinica storia.
---> Senza alcun dubbio un giallo "classico" non convenzionale e questo per me è il suo bello !
Questo è un libro che potrà piacere molto, a chi come me ama le trame dal passo veloce, dove ogni teoria formulata  dal lettore viene  smontata per poi essere di nuovo riprese in considerazione per poi essere nuovamente smentita da eventi e prove impreviste e personaggi ingannatori fino all' impensabile.

Al contrario, chi legge i gialli classici perché ama la loro lentezza e detestano l'azione, valuterà questo libro solo poche stelle e probabilmente lo definirà un guazzabuglio...quindi prima di leggerlo assicuratevi di riconoscere a quale gruppo di lettori appartenete.

Come ho detto il passo è veloce e nonostante sia un giallo classico del 1903 c'è tanta azione e un paio di capitoli finali potrebbero benissimo essere scene di mission impossible o 007. 

Per quanto riguarda il colpevole del delitto, devo ammettere che l'ho indovinato sin dall'inizio e mi è stato enormemente antipatico per tutta la durata del libro.
Nonostante ciò voglio assicurarvi, che dubiterete della vostra teoria più volte e tutti gli avvenimenti vi coinvolgeranno talmente tanto da rendere il romanzo gustoso dall'inizio alla fine.

__ I PERSONAGGI __ Dal momento che ho già accennato qualcosa riguardo al colpevole partirò da questo personaggio :

1) IL COLPEVOLE __ Capii subiti chi ATTENTI: SPOILER ___ [ fosse perchè il suo atteggiamento era troppo assurdo : prima estremamente affettuoso, poi un improvviso accanimento contro una persona che fino a due minuti prima professava di ammirare ...fu lui  a trovare l'arma del delitto  e a formulare le  ipotesi. Stesso atteggiamento affezionato e poi accusatorio e poi di nuovo troppo gentile verso la vittima ]___FINE SPOILER penso che l'autore abbia programmato di farci capire chi poteva essere il colpevole per poi stupirci con una trama imprevedibile e ricca di colpi di scena, dove le indagini non sono eseguite solo dal detective, ma da più persone, alcune delle quali veramente improbabili eppure astute ( Mrs. Parry ! ) 

2) LA PETTEGOLA DEL VILLAGGIO __ ok..una lingua biforcuta che può distruggere le reputazioni più immacolate, ma questo personaggio è riuscito davvero a sorprendermi e se all'inizio poteva essere considerata odiosa, in realtà è furba come una volpe e riuscirà persino a risultare simpatica, perché è lei che sa inquadrare ogni persona meglio di un detective. Riesce ad intuire la verità ascoltando nei posti giusti e sa riportare le informazioni solo alle persone giuste.
Potrebbe sembrare un personaggio inutile, ma in realtà il suo ruolo è fondamentale per le indagini.

3) L'INNAMORATO, IL VERO PROTAGONISTA ___ Mi piace ! Bello e simpatico è anche un giovane uomo che non mancherà alla parola data seppure questo gli spezza il cuore. E' il primo in assoluto a credere nell'innocenza della donna che ama e sin dall'inizio fa di tutto per trovarla e scagionarla dall'accusa di omicidio. Contro il pensiero di tutti e contro tutte le prove che potrebbero avvalorare la colpevolezza della sua amata, egli si comporterà sempre in maniera corretta ed educata, metterà a rischio la propria reputazione e la propria vita fino ad arrivare alla meta prefissa. Il miglior personaggio di tutto il libro. Un vero eroe.

4) IL DETECTIVE ___ personaggio non al massimo dell'intelligenza e della perspicacia ma neppure stupido. E' un uomo che sa riconoscere i propri errori di giudizio e seppure aiutato nelle indagini da parecchi personaggi ( ognuno di loro riesce a risolvere  delle parti dell puzzle fino ad arrivare alla verità finale ) è comunque una solida figura su cui si può contare.
Di lui mi è piaciuto il fatto che non sia affatto presuntuoso e che non abbia mai creato problemi a chi cercava di trovare la verità per conto proprio, anzi, egli ha accettato la collaborazione con l'intelligenza di chi è realmente interessato alla verità e non al prestigio personale ( ATTENTI: SPOILER ___ [ sebbene alla fine Mr. Ware gli conceda la gloria dell'aver risolto il caso, com'era giusto che fosse ]___FINE SPOILER )

5) ALTRI PERSONAGGI DI CONTORNO __ attorno ai protagonisti principali ci sono altri personaggi di contorno, ognuno dei quali ricopre un ruolo fondamentale sia nei crimini annessi al reato sul quale si sta indagando sia nelle investigazioni.
I personaggi sono tutti bene delineati caratterialmente anche quando fanno solo poche apparizioni o hanno poche battute ...l'autore li ha resi reali mettendo in risalto la caratteristica che li contraddistigueva dagli altri ( l'eccentricità, la bonta, la malvagità, la furbizia, l'impulsività, la cupidigia, l'intelligenza, la vigliaccheria...di ognuno possiamo vedere chiaramente i tratti più distintivi del loro carattere ).
Nelle scene drammatiche forse qualcuno risulta un poco teatrale, ma questo mi ha ricordato i romanzi di Wilkie Collins e quindi mi è piaciuto.

Nel complesso mi è piaciuto tutto : trama, personaggi, finale ( eccetto che avrei voluto anche l'umiliazione per il colpevole ), il tipo di scrittura e l'atmosfera eccitante data dalla corsa contro il tempo.

Questo è stato il primo romanzo che ho letto di Fergus Hume e sicuramente non sarà l'ultimo.

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