Spring Cleaning: A Novel
Written by Antonio Manzini
Narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
The fourth installment in the Rocco Schiavone mystery series from the international bestselling author, Antonio Manzini picks up three days after his last novel, Out of Season, left off, as Rocco seeks revenge for a friend—and closure for himself.
Rocco is still reeling from the death of his best friend’s girlfriend, who was murdered as she slept in his bed. There’s no doubt that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the ultimate price. With the identity of the hitman still unknown, a cloud lingers over Rocco, dulling his judgment and leaving this anti-hero exposed to other threats. For Rocco has stepped on one too many people’s toes over the years, namely the mafia that is still being rooted out in Aosta.
To complicate matters, the kidnapped teenager that Rocco saved has not fully recovered. But all is not as it appears with that family. Her mother, father, and boyfriend are all running some sort of farce that Rocco can’t easily crack. And now he must grapple between these two parallel investigations and find answers once and for all…before one too many skeletons come after him.
With the same clever insights, vitality, and humor readers have come to expect from Manzini, Spring Cleaning is another engaging mystery.
Antonio Manzini
Antonio Manzini is an actor, a screenwriter, a director, and the author of two murder mysteries featuring Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone. Black Run is the first of these novels to be translated into English. He lives in Italy.
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Reviews for Spring Cleaning
40 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I had never read anything by Antonio Manzini prior to receiving this book as part of the Early Reviewer program. But, I'm generally a fan of a gritty police / crime procedural and was interested to give Detective Rocco Schiavone a go. He's an abrasive, hard-edged guy, the type with a lot of emotional scars, but he's very good at his job.This reads like an international crime / police procedural that you could imagine getting picked up by Netflix. There's a telegraphic cadence, style, and feel to the writing. I believe it's translated from Italian, but that's not an issue, just an observation.The premise is interesting. The action opens with Rocco seeking revenge for the death of his best friend's girlfriend. Her murder was a case of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. At the time of her death, she happened to be sleeping in Rocco's bed. It was a professional hit and Rocco himself may have been the target. Turns out that's just the start of the loose or unraveling threads on a few of Rocco's cases. Figuring out who's behind her death requires him to take a look at his case history and a criminal where-are-they-now which gets complicated.The setup of this story involves a lot of subplots and characters. The story is told from shifting POVs. Unlike many other procedural series-in-progress that I've dipped into, this one seems to presume and even rely on the reader's familiarity with previous installments of the series. Some of Rocco's choices and motivations, as well as references to past characters, cases, or situations were hard to understand without the back history from previous books in the series. (I believe this one is #4.)Is it impossible to read this novel without having read those preceding it? No. But, for me, it made it harder to get into it and a less enjoyable read. If you are already familiar with the series I think it would mean a lot more. If you're not, and the genre appeals to you, don't start with this one. In this series, order matters.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This third book in the Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone mystery series is a gritty police procedural with a peek into the dark world of organized crime. The reader is not spared the ugliness of this world's underbelly and its unbridled ruthlessness. This story is not easily understood without the background material from the earlier installments of this series. There are many characters, some of whom have similar names to others. There's a lot going on in this book and at times it is tough to keep all the pieces in order. But in the end, it is a satisfying thriller mystery with a bit of dangling unfinished business. No doubt, Manzini will pick up the thread and spin deftly the ongoing yarn.This is a continuation of the story developed in the previous installment, "Out of Season" where a teenage girl had been kidnapped, raped, and held hostage deep in the Italian alps. It appeared to have been an effort on the part of organized crime. We find the girl is still struggling with her PTSD and has yet to re-enter the world and embrace her friends and schoolwork.So too, we find Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone holing up in his apartment with Lupa, his faithful canine companion. Someone had broken into his apartment in an effort to murder him. The perpetrator nailed his best friend's girlfriend instead as she had sought out refuge in Rocco's apartment while figuring out relational difficulties with the boyfriend. But who, considering all the many perps he sent away, had had it in for Rocco and nailed Adèle instead?The loanshark and kidnapping mastermind of "Out of Season" has been captured and sent away to prison. He is eventually found dead of a presumed heart attack. But what if it was murder? Meanwhile, a bar owner disappears and his faithful assistant is beside herself with worry and a strong sense of loss. While investigating these two cases, Rocco's is still working through the matter of Adèle's sudden demise. Somehow Rocco works out the many details and delivers a satisfying conclusion to the many mysteries.I am grateful to publisher, Harper Collins and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for having provided a free uncorrected proof copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.Foreword (from the back cover of an uncorrected proof):The fourth installment in the Rocco Schiavone mystery series from the international bestselling author, Antonio Manzini picks up three days after his last novel, Out of Season, left off, as Rocco seeks revenge for a friend—and closure for himself.Rocco is still reeling from the death of his best friend’s girlfriend, who was murdered as she slept in his bed. There’s no doubt that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the ultimate price. With the identity of the hitman still unknown, a cloud lingers over Rocco, dulling his judgment and leaving this anti-hero exposed to other threats. For Rocco has stepped on one too many people’s toes over the years, namely the mafia that is still being rooted out in Aosta.To complicate matters, the kidnapped teenager that Rocco saved has not fully recovered. But all is not as it appears with that family. Her mother, father, and boyfriend are all running some sort of farce that Rocco can’t easily crack. And now he must grapple between these two parallel investigations and find answers once and for all…before one too many skeletons come after him.With the same clever insights, vitality, and humor readers have come to expect from Manzini, Spring Cleaning is another engaging, page-turning mystery.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A light, entertaining mystery, maybe a perfect beach read for this summer. This was my first read by this author and I found it a bit confusing. Based on other reviews I've read, it seems this book makes more sense if you've read the first three in the Rocco Schiavone series. I plan to read the first three to fill in the blanks for Spring Cleaning.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I enjoyed the other book by this author that I received through the Early Reviewers program (book 3 in the series) but I just couldn't make it through this one, even though I tried several times. Honestly, a big problem for me was keeping track of all the characters, and there are a lot. So many names were similar, and I had to re-read passages several times just to make sure I understood who was involved. I will probably let this sit for a while and come back to it at some point.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a good one for readers who like their detectives to be on the surly side, although given the events of the previous books he has every right to a little on the prickly side.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Picking up just a few days after the ending of 2018’s Out of Season Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone, still shocked by the brutal murder of his best friend’s girlfriend (staying with Rocco during a lovers’ spat), decides to hide out in a hotel far from his home in the Aosta valley. Rocco is convinced he was the real target of the killer—and once the assassin realizes Rocco is still alive will come after him again. Searching for a likely suspect, Rocco runs through a list of criminals he’s put away—mostly members of the Italian mafia. As Rocco systematically investigates this case, another puzzling case lands on his desk. During a prison riot, another of Rocco’s enemies is found dead—murdered or natural causes is Rocco’s challenge; and a distraction from tracking down the hitman he knows is chasing him. With the identity of the hitman still unknown Rocco’s judgment is suspect in this prison murder and a lingering case that he is following up from the previous series book.The kidnapped teenager that Rocco saved in Out of Season has not fully recovered and relies on Rocco for emotional and mental strength. But all is not as it appears with her family. Her mother, father, and boyfriend are all running some sort of fraud that Rocco has trouble figuring out but keeps coming back to. And now he must struggle between these investigations and find answers once and for all for his mental well being. With the same clever insights, witty dialogue, and dark humor readers have come to expect from Manzini, Spring Cleaning is another engaging, page-turning mystery.Any reader of detective fiction should be aware of Rocco Schiavone and his irreverent approach to solving crime. Antonio Manzini is a terrific storyteller. His books are a delight to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mientras Rocco se recupera de la muerte de la novia de su amigo, investiga un homicidio que quiere aparecer como un accidente. Mientras tanto se desarrolla las consecuencias del secuestro de Chiara que vimos el libro anterior, todo se mezcla y relaciona, asimismo con la investigación del homicidio de su amiga, aparecen los fantasmas del pasado