Bellissimo, mi è piaciuto talmente che sono entrata direttamente nella spirale di questa serie e ora leggerò tutti quelli sinora pubblicati.
Una storia principale sulla quale se ne innestano tante altre, comprese quelle dei singoli componenti della Squadra dei Bastardi di Pizzofalcone.
Lo stile di De Giovanni mi è piaciuto moltissimo, e le sue digressioni mi hanno incantato.
Da non perdere di sicuro. ( )

I've read with great pleasure all the Commissario Ricciardi books, but had not tried one of these. Somehow I thought they would be dark, violent, Godfather-ish thrillers. To my happy surprise, this is not that, but rather a classy, engaging ensemble police procedural (my favorite crime genre) - a south Italian "nero," which reminded me of Department Q or the Martin Beck series. A Neapolitan police precinct has come under disgrace for top-to-bottom corruption, and is being considered for closure. Instead, a charismatic commissioner assembles a team of cops from other precincts, all of whom, for various reasons, are cops those precincts are only too happy to be rid of. Each has his or her own back story, character flaws, or quirks, making for a challenging and difficult team exercise. The investigation into the murder of the wife of a socially prominent notary is the test to see whether this trial precinct will succeed or fail. It trots right along, with some intriguing side stories and characters who we might hope will emerge in their own right in subsequent books in the series. The only thing that kept this one from a fourth star is the way the reveal of the murderer is handled - the cops suddenly figure out who it is, but the reader is kept in the dark about the details till the confession is obtained, even as De Giovanni has used one of his favored techniques of scattered italicized soliloquies from that person's point of view throughout the book. Still, I enjoyed this a lot and have pulled its introductory volume, Crocodile from the library. I am looking forward to the rest. ( )

Libro d'esordio dei bastardi di Pizzofalcone: semplice, lineare, banale se vogliamo. Ma scritto bene, con i dovuti tempi e le dovute pause.
Solo un appunto: svolgere il colpo di scena finale all'oscuro non è una novità, e nemmeno bello. Spero che nei prossimi libri si redima.... ( )

Thanks to OliverMagnus for his earlier review. He is right about the rich development of many characters. In addition to the unfolding story of whodunnit, there is the story of a group of characters all labeled misfits by their former colleagues who nonetheless come together as a team. That is an oft told tale but De Giovanni is a master and it is told with a fresh eye, not coming within a mile of a cliche. There is also a tale of the city which respects the power, allure and dangers that are part of the cityscape told by someone who knows it well.

And OliverMagnus' comment that the story reminded him of Ed McBain's New York Precinct shows that he has a discerning eye. In the Acknowledgment section at the end of the book McBain is mentioned as the 'unparalleled master.' One can only hope that De Giovanni can continue to crank them out the way the 'master' did. ( )

A recent drug scandal in the Pizzofalcone district of Naples has resulted in the arrest of four police officers. Amidst talk of closing the precinct entirely, the administration us throwing one last lifeline. Law enforcement officials have selected four new police officers to replace the corrupt ones. Each of the new officers has a problem that made them persona non grata at their old jobs, including the star of this series, Sicilian Lieutenant Giuseppe Lojacono who recently captured a serial killer in The Crocodile.

Cecilia De Santis has been found bludgeoned to death with a snow globe from her huge collection. She came from a wealthy family and her husband is a well known notary. There doesn't seem to be any clues at the crime scene but Lojacono, teamed with another rogue detective, is able to put together a series of people to question, which eventually leads to a list of possible suspects. Meanwhile, the other two detectives are investigating a complaint from an old woman that her young and beautiful neighbor never answers the door or leaves her apartment.

I'm a huge fan of Maurizio de Giovanni’s Commissairio Ricciardi series, set in fascist Italy of the 1930s. He is probably my favorite crime novelist. Lojacono is a completely different protagonist than Ricciardi but they have some things in common that make them a fascinating change from the usual police procedural. This series reminds me a bit of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels where the main characters work as a team, rather than the lone wolf style mysteries that are usually popular. I love the setting of Naples, and the misfit Bastards of Pizzofalcone, each of whom is richly developed. I just picked up book 3 – Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone and can't wait to read what happens next to this interesting group. ( )