Death in the Tuscan Hills by Marco Vichi, Book Review

It’s the time of year when folks start thinking about going on holiday. Italy for a change? How about Tuscany? As a lover of Italian crime, the fictitious kind of course, I was drawn to Death in the Tuscan Hills, my first Inspector Bordelli mystery and the fifth one so far. I wasn’t disappointed. When you get to a certain age, that of the author Marco Vichi and not surprisingly also that of the protagonist, you might be forgiven for thinking about getting away from it all. You’ve worked hard, life hasn’t live up to expectations and you want to go somewhere quiet and start over. Inspector Bordelli is tired, disillusioned and jaded. And his heart was broken – or was it his ego? Hard to tell with many Italian police inspectors.

 Not all of us can buy an old farmhouse in Tuscany when that happens, but that is what Bordelli does. He moves out into the country and starts a vegetable garden. He even finds a stray dog to share his solitude. You wouldn’t think that’s a promising start for a thriller, but don’t let this gentle premise mislead you. Soon Bordelli, not an inspector anymore, is up to his neck in tricky mysteries. Not being in the police means he hasn’t got the resources he previously could call on, well, not officially, but on the other hand he can be more imaginative in meting out justice – although I’m not sure I’m comfortable with knowing what lurks in the heart of this middle-aged Italian police inspector. Having said that, Bordelli is kind to the dog.

This beautifully written novel is a kind of police procedural in that there is method in the investigations of Bordelli, a violent and cunning method.

Elegantly translated by Stephen Sartarelli and published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2016.