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Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery #12
Some Bitter Taste
The Twelfth Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation
When an elderly woman drops by the Florentine carabinieri to complain that someone broke in to her apartment while she was out, Marshal Guarnaccia listens patiently, offers advice, and vows to pay her a visit. But before he can keep his promise, Miss Hirsch is found dead, her throat cut. She wasn’t the only person to come to the Marshal for help in recent days. There’s also a young Albanian prostitute, who wants his help to stay out of prison, and a wealthy foreign robbery victim whose case the captain is quick to prioritize. The Marshal has his hands full, and his best efforts may not be enough to stop a murderer
When an elderly woman drops by the Florentine carabinieri to complain that someone broke in to her apartment while she was out, Marshal Guarnaccia listens patiently, offers advice, and vows to pay her a visit. But before he can keep his promise, Miss Hirsch is found dead, her throat cut. She wasn’t the only person to come to the Marshal for help in recent days. There’s also a young Albanian prostitute, who wants his help to stay out of prison, and a wealthy foreign robbery victim whose case the captain is quick to prioritize. The Marshal has his hands full, and his best efforts may not be enough to stop a murderer
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2002
About the author
Magdalen Nabb
45 books49 followersMAGDALEN NABB was born in Lancashire in 1947 and trained as a potter. In 1975 she abandoned pottery, sold her home and her car, and came to Florence with her son, knowing nobody and speaking no Italian. She has lived there ever since, and pursues a dual career as crime writer and children's author.
She has written fourteen crime novels featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the carabinieri, all set in Florence, which she describes as 'a very secret city. Walk down any residential street and you have no idea what is going on behind those blank walls. It's a problem the Marshal comes up against all the time.'
Magdalen Nabb also writes the immensely successful Josie Smith books, set in her native Lancashire, which form the basis of the Granada children's TV series, Josie Smith, scripted by the author. Her first book, Josie Smith, was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1989, and in l99l, Josie Smith and Eileen was winner of the prestigious Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 age group.
Series:
* Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery
* Josie Smith
She has written fourteen crime novels featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the carabinieri, all set in Florence, which she describes as 'a very secret city. Walk down any residential street and you have no idea what is going on behind those blank walls. It's a problem the Marshal comes up against all the time.'
Magdalen Nabb also writes the immensely successful Josie Smith books, set in her native Lancashire, which form the basis of the Granada children's TV series, Josie Smith, scripted by the author. Her first book, Josie Smith, was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1989, and in l99l, Josie Smith and Eileen was winner of the prestigious Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 age group.
Series:
* Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery
* Josie Smith
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 7, 2017
I don't usually read mysteries. I tend to think, "Why should I care about an imaginary crime?" For me to like this book is in fact credit to the author’s writing ability.
I liked it because:
-I love the humble investigator, Marshall Guarnaccia, working from the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. He is not merely a detective but as well a husband and father. Unpresuming, modest and hardworking. He is a bit overweight, sweats in the summer heat, loves his wife and kids but never has five minutes for anything but work. He is just your "normal guy", except he certainly can read people.
-The mystery ties into historical happenings - stolen Jewish art, persecution of Jews in the war and how they were treated in Italy. About Albanian immigrants too. The themes have political, historical and contemporary significance.
-There is humor, albeit subtle.
-This is no fairy tale where all ends up painted in rose.
-The text well depicts Italian life.
The audiobook narration by Bill Wallis was very good. He intones the personalities of the many different characters very well - be they police officials, judges, criminals, prostitutes or kids. The reading is clear and has perfect speed. He pauses when he should.
******************************
Other books read in the Marshal Guarnaccia mystery series:
The Marshal and the Madwoman (3 stars)
The Monster of Florence (3 stars)
Death in Springtime (3 stars)
Death in Autumn (3 stars)
The Marshal and the Murderer (4 stars)
Property of Blood (4 stars)
The books do not have to be read in order.
I liked it because:
-I love the humble investigator, Marshall Guarnaccia, working from the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. He is not merely a detective but as well a husband and father. Unpresuming, modest and hardworking. He is a bit overweight, sweats in the summer heat, loves his wife and kids but never has five minutes for anything but work. He is just your "normal guy", except he certainly can read people.
-The mystery ties into historical happenings - stolen Jewish art, persecution of Jews in the war and how they were treated in Italy. About Albanian immigrants too. The themes have political, historical and contemporary significance.
-There is humor, albeit subtle.
-This is no fairy tale where all ends up painted in rose.
-The text well depicts Italian life.
The audiobook narration by Bill Wallis was very good. He intones the personalities of the many different characters very well - be they police officials, judges, criminals, prostitutes or kids. The reading is clear and has perfect speed. He pauses when he should.
******************************
Other books read in the Marshal Guarnaccia mystery series:
The Marshal and the Madwoman (3 stars)
The Monster of Florence (3 stars)
Death in Springtime (3 stars)
Death in Autumn (3 stars)
The Marshal and the Murderer (4 stars)
Property of Blood (4 stars)
The books do not have to be read in order.
June 3, 2012
I am almost at the end of this series by Magdalen Nabb. This is the 12th book featuring Marshal Guarnaccia. In this book Guarnaccia is once again the silent, strong character that he has been in previous novels. He is always second guessing himself and considers others to be better at solving crime than he is. This is humble attitude is what makes him so appealing to me.
In "Some Bitter Taste" Guarnaccia is quite certain he knows who is behind the murder of a lonely, elderly woman...he just needs to figure out how to bring punishment into the picture. There are several different story lines flowing in this book, each of which are wrapped up by the time you turn the last page.
In "Some Bitter Taste" Guarnaccia is quite certain he knows who is behind the murder of a lonely, elderly woman...he just needs to figure out how to bring punishment into the picture. There are several different story lines flowing in this book, each of which are wrapped up by the time you turn the last page.
June 2, 2010
This third book cycles back to the repercussions of WW II on the war's survivors and their children. Ill-gotten goods and wealth based on the misery of others form the center of this story. You have to view it as a morality tale since the uneasy conscience of a war-driven scoundrel drives his life and that of his children, legitimate and not, until they are all passed away into history in modern-day Florence.
No one benefits from the riches. It prettifies their lives and in the end only makes them miserable as life's disappointments accumulate and they grow older only to become targets of the next generation of looters and ambitious men. Just like their parents, the vultures and hangers on gather to hasten their demise, a cynical gathering of those hoping to profit from the course of history. It's enough to make one ponder the legacy of a "family business."
Life repeats itself, but not in the obvious public ways of a profession or inheritance. It's character that counts. If it's not the sins of the fathers being imposed on their offspring, it's truth that will reveal the shell of a hollow soul. We naturally respond to the tragedy of a life cut short, but further revelations often lead to disgust at the wasting of life on an unholy creature.
No one benefits from the riches. It prettifies their lives and in the end only makes them miserable as life's disappointments accumulate and they grow older only to become targets of the next generation of looters and ambitious men. Just like their parents, the vultures and hangers on gather to hasten their demise, a cynical gathering of those hoping to profit from the course of history. It's enough to make one ponder the legacy of a "family business."
Life repeats itself, but not in the obvious public ways of a profession or inheritance. It's character that counts. If it's not the sins of the fathers being imposed on their offspring, it's truth that will reveal the shell of a hollow soul. We naturally respond to the tragedy of a life cut short, but further revelations often lead to disgust at the wasting of life on an unholy creature.
February 26, 2023
Ho-hum Florentine detective fiction; not the tightest writing.
Marshal Guarnaccia is self-deprecating to a fault, but a wonderful listener. He almost inadvertently solves crimes when people chose him to unburden their secrets.
In this, Nabb’s 12th police procedural in the series, Guarnaccio follows three investigations in parallel, two of which turn out to be linked. The plotting is complicated, with multiple generations, a disputed inheritance, challenges to tenancy rights, and grand art theft. To be honest, things weren’t 100 percent clear to me at the denouement, though that was probably because I rushed it.
Nabb’s series has decent reviews from respected journals, describing her writing as spare, elegant, sophisticated, literate. To a point, yes; though I found that the narrative could have been tightened up in places. When two detectives discuss their case over a vending-machine espresso, we are informed that there is a bin nearby where the cups are tossed afterwards. When a car is parked, there is a discussion of whether it should be in the shade or not. These narrative empty calories add nothing to the atmosphere or plot, and break the flow, like hearing a flubbed chord in a piano recital. Similarly, the narration sometimes suddenly skips, without warning, from the present to past, even in the same paragraph, requiring a reread to recapture the storyline.
The oddest writing comes during a section where Guarnaccia finds a video in which a now deceased father leaves a message for his estranged daughter. (This plot device is a bit of a letdown, as the investigation is advanced, deus ex machina, without any procedural legwork.) The prerecorded monologue also risks being narratively unexciting, except that when the father refers in his video to an argument with another man in the past, Nabb reports the exchange verbatim:
“Afraid somebody might hear the truth about you…”
“I cheated no one. I paid. I paid for everything.”
“Paid a pittance! Paid an insult!”
“Paid as much as I could afford at the time.” ... etc.
Reading this, we wonder whether the father is acting out the two sides of the old argument to enliven his video recording (which would be truly strange) or whether the video acts as a sort of time machine taking Guarnaccia back to witness the confrontation himself (even stranger). The simple answer, I suspect, is that the author wanted to inject some dramatic dialogue and didn't worry too much about the inexplicable narratorial perspective.
Small niggles, perhaps; but when you lose confidence in your narrator, the whole work suffers for it.
Marshal Guarnaccia is self-deprecating to a fault, but a wonderful listener. He almost inadvertently solves crimes when people chose him to unburden their secrets.
In this, Nabb’s 12th police procedural in the series, Guarnaccio follows three investigations in parallel, two of which turn out to be linked. The plotting is complicated, with multiple generations, a disputed inheritance, challenges to tenancy rights, and grand art theft. To be honest, things weren’t 100 percent clear to me at the denouement, though that was probably because I rushed it.
Nabb’s series has decent reviews from respected journals, describing her writing as spare, elegant, sophisticated, literate. To a point, yes; though I found that the narrative could have been tightened up in places. When two detectives discuss their case over a vending-machine espresso, we are informed that there is a bin nearby where the cups are tossed afterwards. When a car is parked, there is a discussion of whether it should be in the shade or not. These narrative empty calories add nothing to the atmosphere or plot, and break the flow, like hearing a flubbed chord in a piano recital. Similarly, the narration sometimes suddenly skips, without warning, from the present to past, even in the same paragraph, requiring a reread to recapture the storyline.
The oddest writing comes during a section where Guarnaccia finds a video in which a now deceased father leaves a message for his estranged daughter. (This plot device is a bit of a letdown, as the investigation is advanced, deus ex machina, without any procedural legwork.) The prerecorded monologue also risks being narratively unexciting, except that when the father refers in his video to an argument with another man in the past, Nabb reports the exchange verbatim:
“Afraid somebody might hear the truth about you…”
“I cheated no one. I paid. I paid for everything.”
“Paid a pittance! Paid an insult!”
“Paid as much as I could afford at the time.” ... etc.
Reading this, we wonder whether the father is acting out the two sides of the old argument to enliven his video recording (which would be truly strange) or whether the video acts as a sort of time machine taking Guarnaccia back to witness the confrontation himself (even stranger). The simple answer, I suspect, is that the author wanted to inject some dramatic dialogue and didn't worry too much about the inexplicable narratorial perspective.
Small niggles, perhaps; but when you lose confidence in your narrator, the whole work suffers for it.
July 14, 2017
First Sentence: The young man, Gjergj, just disappeared.
An elderly woman believes a stranger has been in her apartment and asks Marshal Guarnaccia to visit her. Another case of a wealthy expatriate interferes. When he does, he discovers she has been murdered. The two cases involving the past, as well as Albanian and Jewish refugees, causes Guarnaccia to question his own judgment.
For places we’ve not been, one tends to think of the idealized version of them. Nabb quickly dispels that image of Florence—“There were no words to describe Florence in July. … Breathing the same soup of evaporating river, car fumes, sweat, and drains day after day made you long to stay indoors where it was cool and clean.”
Nabb gives one a real sense of the marshal. Without going into specific details, we know how he looks, as well as how he deals with, and is regarded by others. The types of complaints handled by the marshal seems universal. One also gets a look at his home life—“She held his head and looked down into his big, mournful eyes. ‘What is it, Salva?...’ As long as she kept hold of him and he could feel the vibrations of her voice it was all right.’. It’s nice to have him referenced as Salva—one assumes short for Salvatore—by his wife, rather than always by his rank. That he is so self-deprecating—‘He’s too clever for me.’ The captain sat back in his chair and looked hard at the marshal. ‘The prosecutor doesn’t think so, as I said.’ The marshal wanted to say, ‘You shouldn’t give the wrong idea about me, get up people’s hopes. It’s not right’--, while everyone else sees his skill and worth, is both interesting and rather unique.
Although it appears there are two separate cases, the commonalities and the way in which Nabb finally weaves them together is so well done. While his superiors deal with the procedural aspects of the cases, Guarnaccia follows the actual clues. More than that, however, is his ability to what lies behind the images people present.
“Some Bitter Taste” is a true mystery, rather than a book of high action. It’s a story of flawed people. The ending is a bit sad, but it’s real.
SOME BITTER TASTE (Pol Proc- Marshal Guarnaccia-Florence, Italy-Contemp) – Good
Nabb, Magdeline – 12th in series
Soho Press – October 2002
An elderly woman believes a stranger has been in her apartment and asks Marshal Guarnaccia to visit her. Another case of a wealthy expatriate interferes. When he does, he discovers she has been murdered. The two cases involving the past, as well as Albanian and Jewish refugees, causes Guarnaccia to question his own judgment.
For places we’ve not been, one tends to think of the idealized version of them. Nabb quickly dispels that image of Florence—“There were no words to describe Florence in July. … Breathing the same soup of evaporating river, car fumes, sweat, and drains day after day made you long to stay indoors where it was cool and clean.”
Nabb gives one a real sense of the marshal. Without going into specific details, we know how he looks, as well as how he deals with, and is regarded by others. The types of complaints handled by the marshal seems universal. One also gets a look at his home life—“She held his head and looked down into his big, mournful eyes. ‘What is it, Salva?...’ As long as she kept hold of him and he could feel the vibrations of her voice it was all right.’. It’s nice to have him referenced as Salva—one assumes short for Salvatore—by his wife, rather than always by his rank. That he is so self-deprecating—‘He’s too clever for me.’ The captain sat back in his chair and looked hard at the marshal. ‘The prosecutor doesn’t think so, as I said.’ The marshal wanted to say, ‘You shouldn’t give the wrong idea about me, get up people’s hopes. It’s not right’--, while everyone else sees his skill and worth, is both interesting and rather unique.
Although it appears there are two separate cases, the commonalities and the way in which Nabb finally weaves them together is so well done. While his superiors deal with the procedural aspects of the cases, Guarnaccia follows the actual clues. More than that, however, is his ability to what lies behind the images people present.
“Some Bitter Taste” is a true mystery, rather than a book of high action. It’s a story of flawed people. The ending is a bit sad, but it’s real.
SOME BITTER TASTE (Pol Proc- Marshal Guarnaccia-Florence, Italy-Contemp) – Good
Nabb, Magdeline – 12th in series
Soho Press – October 2002
December 24, 2021
The death of a frightened older woman leads into a complicated family history, both genealogical and financial that includes the expropriation of Jewish property during the war. The Marshal continues to be an admirable figure, appreciated by everyone except himself. This series is noteworthy for the way it shows the main character’s anxiety and self doubt. It’s also cold blooded about what the privileged get away with.
As before, the electronic edition of this series is very badly formatted and this one is worse than the others: a lot of typos, bad paragraphing and a problem coding quotation marks that garbles the subsequent quote. Not acceptable.
As before, the electronic edition of this series is very badly formatted and this one is worse than the others: a lot of typos, bad paragraphing and a problem coding quotation marks that garbles the subsequent quote. Not acceptable.
May 6, 2022
A more-or-less typical Marshal Guarnaccia story: the heat of Florence in late summer, someone confides a strange tale to Guarnaccia on the recommendation of another person—is it paranoia? Dementia? Guarnaccia finds out the claim was authentic only after the woman who visits him is killed in her apartment.
In the meantime, other cases come up. Guarnaccia meets and somehow impresses or calms several people, in spite of his own lack of confidence in his abilities. Two seemingly unrelated cases (in reality, Nabb leaves a trail of crumbs that’s easy to follow) weave together in the end. Also, Marshall Guarnaccia tries and fails to reform a successful sex worker.
In the meantime, other cases come up. Guarnaccia meets and somehow impresses or calms several people, in spite of his own lack of confidence in his abilities. Two seemingly unrelated cases (in reality, Nabb leaves a trail of crumbs that’s easy to follow) weave together in the end. Also, Marshall Guarnaccia tries and fails to reform a successful sex worker.
July 31, 2017
Short and sweet, well as sweet as unsavoury characters can allow. Pulls together nicely.
November 26, 2019
Another excellent read - very poignant and thought provoking . The Marshal is/was a wonderful literary creation and I will savour the final two books in the series.
November 17, 2020
Ein ziemlich verworrener, nicht allzu spannender Krimi um geflüchtete Juden und ihre Kunstschätze.
April 12, 2016
Marshall Guarnaccia is involved in two cases this time and in both he seems to be too late to prevent the worst. When an old lady tells him about her suspicions that somebody has intruded her appartment, he finds her murdered the other day and when he is going to arrest the pimps of some teenage Kosovo Albanian illegal immigrants, he witnesses a seventeen year old girl being thrown out of the driving car. She survives but remains mentally handicapped for the rest of her life. Sweating under the remorseless august sun in the summer smog of Florence, when most of the inhabitants have fled to the Versilia, as for example Huxley did in his times, his job is eating away at the marshall. While his informant is sneaking out he fails to arrest the pimps and the murder investigation leads him into the cypress hills of Florence to the villa of an Englishman in very poor health, who seem to be in some ways connected to the victim. Again Mrs Nabb casts a different light over the brilliant and sparkling Florence when her marshall follows his clues from the other side of the river Arno at Palazzo Pitti, to where he finally finds the murderer.
December 16, 2016
I enjoy Nabb's mysteries, which are set in Florence Italy and center around a plump, endearingly self-depracating marshal who is allergic to the sun. I have been sick and I'm currently reading a lot of serious, thoughty, not very cheery books, and I needed something I could consume quickly. This fit the bill. Well, murder isn't exactly cheery, I'll give you that, but it is very distracting and engaging and doesn't require a lot of serious thought. As always, she's a master of evoking the feel of Florence in any season. In this case, it's August: it's hot, it's hard to breathe, there are a lot of tourists, and no one's thinking very clearly. It was a nicely claustrophobic environment for dark deeds.
September 5, 2011
This detective story starts off with an idea from a George Simenon novel and takes it in a totally different direction. A woman called Sara Hirsch comes to the police station in Florence with a complaint that someone has been in her apartment while she was out. Marshall Guarnaccia listens, offers advice and promises to stop by. Before he can keep his promise, Miss Hirsch dies in suspicious circumstances. Strong characterizations, skillfully handled multiple story lines, and deft plotting made for a very satisfying read.
April 22, 2010
Another mystery in which various crimes occur but are then tied together by a common thread through the tireless efforts of Marshal Guarnaccia. This one is a bit forced...all of the various elements are almost too obviously singular events of mundanity despite the sure feeling the reader gets that nothing random can be discounted. It's almost disappointing as the random events are corralled together into a devious plot of betrayal and murder.
January 27, 2016
"Bitter Taste" is an accurate title for this book......
I did figure out part of the "mystery" and relationship between two of the victims.
I learned a wee bit about the Jews in Italy who "helped" other exiled Jews by buying their valuables so that the exiles could escape Europe (if they were fortunate enough).
Part of the underlying theme (beside "family") was "Could this murder/death have been avoided?".
This was a very sad book.
I did figure out part of the "mystery" and relationship between two of the victims.
I learned a wee bit about the Jews in Italy who "helped" other exiled Jews by buying their valuables so that the exiles could escape Europe (if they were fortunate enough).
Part of the underlying theme (beside "family") was "Could this murder/death have been avoided?".
This was a very sad book.
Read
August 15, 2012I really liked the main character of the book , the Marshal Guarnacchia of the Florence police department. He has such a humble opinion of himself but everyone around him admires and likes him. And yet he seems baffled when he gets admissions and cooperation out of people without seeming to try to !
April 25, 2013
The Marshal investigates the murder of a woman who had come to him with fears that someone had been in her apartment. He is the one who finds her body. Love the Marshal as a character, the mix of self-doubt and his ability to draw out information by just talking. The mysteries at play here did just make me sad though.
December 17, 2015
Marshal Guarnaccia in this mystery confronts the death of an elderly Jewish spinster that holds a secret from the past. This secret intersects with the life of Sir Christopher Wrothesley, an English expatriate living in sumptuous wealth at Villa L'Uliveto near Florence. As usual, Guaraccia is surprised at the trust shown in his abilities by his superiors. That trust is not misplaced.
March 24, 2010
The Marshall is a wonderful character and the stories are set in Florence. that's more than enough compensation for ordinary writing. Nabb is not a bad writer but neither is she extraordinary. The Marshall however is endearing.
Read
January 19, 2013With the combination of the old legacy of World War II and the new problem of Albanian immigration, as well as Marshal Guarnaccia's frustration with his young sons' immersion in computer games, this is an especially good entry in the series, of both historical and current interest.
December 23, 2007
One of the best mysteries I've ever read. Artful blending of two family narratives with historical (WWII) background in a Florentine setting.
January 19, 2009
Quite a mundane read, I thought. My mother had a spare copy and I read it during the course of a road trip. It passed the time, but I wasn't overly keen on it.
June 8, 2010
I read several of these mysteries by Nabb--each set in or around Florence. They are fun both for their mystery plots and for being set in Italy.
July 22, 2011
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I definitely intend to read more. I liked the multiple mysteries that tied together at the end.
May 25, 2012
This is a detective novel that takes place in Florence. I enjoy reading books set in a city I'm visiting. In that respect it was better than two stars!
August 30, 2013
I'm used to books that are faster paced, much more exciting, and a bit more interesting than this. It wasn't bad as such, it was just too mundane.
October 25, 2013
This would appeal to Donna Leon fans. Humble pleasant detective, similar dark territory, beautiful descriptions. I felt it fell in a heap a bit at the end but it was a great read.
November 5, 2009
Read because of the Florentine setting. A mildly interesting detective story.
July 25, 2014
Marshal Guarnaccia mystery #12. Set in Florence.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews