The first in the Inspector Bordelli series. He reminds me a little of another famous literary detective, Inspector Montalbano in Sicily because of his love for food and his seeing a person's true character regardless of their station in life. His belief in fairness is inspirating, especially when he catches a burglar who'd only just been released from prison in the act, and instead of turning him in, offers him a part time job watering the plants for an ex-prostitute away on vacation. An elderly woman is found dead in bed, apparently as a result of an asthma attack. But Inspector Bordelli's gut is telling him that there is something amiss and that it's a homicide rather than death by natural causes, and he's proved right when the post mortem is completed. With the assistance of the son of an old army buddy, he picks apart alibis in order to uncover the motive and cause of the woman's untimely death. This wasn't a bad book, but it was a disappointment. To begin with, although it was set in Florence, there was absolutely no sense of the place. It could have been set in any generic Italian city, as long as it was HOT (a fact that gets mentioned on almost every page). Plot-wise, because of a dearth of suspects, the mystery itself was not very mysterious -- though the manner of death was pretty far-fetched. Finally, while Inspector Bordelli had some interesting aspects, he fell short of being a full-fledged character.
What do You think about Il Commissario Bordelli (2002)?
This would have made a great short story but there wasn't enough here to justify a novel.
—aleksu42
Lovely book, gentle crime mystery. Very similar to Andrea Camilleri / Montalbano books.
—jassy
Nothing at all really happens, but nothing the worse for that!
—lward87
Un Montalbano versione fiorentina...
—lindsayjones
