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River of Shadows: A Commissario Soneri Mystery by Valerio Varesi (view source)
Revision as of 13:51, 13 August 2010
, 13:51, 13 August 2010no edit summary
You'd best read this book sitting in the sun, or in front of the fire. If you don't you will feel damp and cold as Varesi effortlessly evokes the Po valley at its worst, along with the people who try and make a living from it. Old enmities from the Second World War live on with the intervening years representing little more than an armed truce. In fact the war seems eerily present throughout the book. The mists from the Po produce their own ghosts.
Soneri himself was something of an enigma to me. He seemed old, with his love of opera and good food and wine yet drove a youthful sports car. He seemed reserved and thoughtful, but accommodated his girlfriend's addiction to having sex in unconventional places. His He is though (courtesy of Varesi) well versed in the resentments which sprang from the fighting between the Fascists and the Partisans in the closing years of the war. It might be fifty years on but the grievances are still real and even those who might be thought to be on the side of right have problems.
I was glad that I was a veteran of the [[:Category:Michael Dibdin|Aurelio Zen]] and [[:Category:Donna Leon|Commissario Guido Brunetti]] investigations or I might have struggled to understand the complexities of the Italian law enforcement structure, which I didn't think were particularly well explained for a non-Italian readership. It is, however, the first book in a series (which is currently one of Italy's most popular television series) and I'm looking forward to reading about Soneri's future investigations. I wasn't entirely convinced by the [[The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri| first book]] in the Inspector Salvo Montalbano series, but now I can't wait for the next book in the series to be published.