Crocodile

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

De Giovanni, Maurizio

Mystery

ABACUS +

[Translated by Anne Milano Appel][Read by Grover Gardner]Naples, 1931. A bitter wind stalks the city streets, and murder lies at its chilled heart. When Maestro Vezzi, one of the world's greatest tenors, is found brutally murdered in his dressing room at Naples' famous San Carlo theater, the enigmatic and aloof Commissario Ricciardi is called to investigate. Arrogant and bad-tempered, Vezzi was hated by many. But with the livelihoods of the opera at stake, who would have committed such a callous act? Ricciardi and his loyal colleague Maione are determined to discover the truth, but Ricciardicarries a secret of his own.Will it help him solve this murder?

I Will Have Vengeance: The Winter of Commissario Ricciardi

Blackstone Audiobooks

[Translated by Antony Shugaar] [Read by Grover Gardner] Ricciardi has visions. He sees and hears the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths. It is both a gift and a curse. It has helped him become one of the most acute and successful homicide detectives in the Naples police force. But all that horror and suffering has hollowed him out emotionally: He drinks and doesn't sleep. Other than his loyal partner Brigadier Maione he has no friends. Naples, 1931. In a working-class apartment in the Sanita neighborhood, an elderly woman by the name of Carmela Calise has been beaten to death. When Ricciardi and Maione arrive at the scene they start asking the neighbors questions. No one wants to talk, but slowly a few interesting facts slip out. Carmela Calise was moonlighting as a fortune-teller and moneylender. In her decrepit apartment, she would receive clients -- among them some of the city's rich and powerful -- predicting their futures in such a way as to manipulate and deceive. If economic ruin lurked in their futures, Calise was happy to help -- for a price, of course. She had many enemies: those indebted to her, manipulated by her lies, disappointed by her prophesies, or destroyed by her machinations. Murder suspects in this atmospheric thriller abound, and Commissario Ricciardi, one of the most original and intriguing investigators in contemporary crime fiction, will have his work cut out for him.

Blood Curse: The Springtime of Commissario Ricciardi

Naples, 1931. Together with his indefatigable partner Brigadier Maione, Commissario Ricciardi, a man driven into solitude by his paranormal "gift" of seeing the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths--a talent that also makes him a highly effective investigator--is conducting an investigation into the death of the beautiful and mysterious Duchess of Camparino. The duchess' connections to Neapolitan privileged social circles and the local Fascist elite make the case a powder keg waiting to blow.

Everyone in Their Place Lib/E: The Summer of Commissario Ricciardi

Blackstone Publishing

[Translated by Antony Shugaar][Read by Grover Gardner]Maurizio de Giovanni presents By My Hand, the fifth book in the critically acclaimed Commissario Ricciardi series.As Naples prepares for its holiday celebrations, behind the facade of order and happiness imposed by the fascist regime lurks terrible poverty and blinding desperation. In a luxurious apartment on the Mergellina beach, the bodies of a fascist militia officer and his wife have been found. The woman's throat has been cut, while the man has been stabbed over sixty times. Seemingly, the hands of two separate killers have been at work. A statuette of St. Joseph, patron saint of workers, lies in pieces on the floor. At the scene of the crime, Ricciardi, who has the dubious gift of being able to see and hear the last seconds in the lives of those who have suffered a violent death, listens to the enigmatic last words of the couple. Accompanied by his faithful partner Brigadier Raffaele Maione -- and once more troubled by two women who compete for his attentions -- the commissario will have to trace a wide and frenetic arc through the streets of Naples in order to uncover the truth.

By My Hand: The Christmas of Commissario Ricciardi

The Bottom of Your Heart Lib/E: The Inferno for Commissario Ricciardi

The second historical mystery featuring Commissario Ricciardi, “one of the most interesting and well-drawn detectives in fiction” (The Daily Beast). Commissario Ricciardi has visions. He sees and hears the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths. It is both a gift and a curse. It has helped him become one of the most acute and successful homicide detectives in the Naples police force. But all that horror and suffering has hollowed him out emotionally. He drinks and doesn’t sleep. Other than his loyal partner, Brigadier Maione, he has no friends. Naples, 1931. In a working-class apartment in the Sanità neighborhood, an elderly woman by the name of Carmela Calise has been beaten to death. When Ricciardi and Maione arrive at the scene, they learn that Calise was moonlighting as a fortuneteller and moneylender whose clients were some of the city’s rich and powerful. She predicted their futures in such a way as to manipulate and deceive and made many enemies―those indebted to her, swayed by her lies, disappointed by her prophesies or destroyed by her machinations. Murder suspects in this atmospheric thriller abound and Commissario Ricciardi, one of the most original and intriguing investigators in contemporary crime fiction, will have his work cut out for him. “The promise that each life will intersect keeps Ricciardi and Maione’s investigation lively.”―Publishers Weekly “A well-crafted, ultimately moving crime novel set in 1931 Naples . . . This is a solid series with an intriguing detective, and fans will eagerly await the third volume.”―Library Journal

Blood Curse: The Springtime of Commissario Ricciardi (Commissario Ricciardi, 2)

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Europa Editions

The author of the Commissario Ricciardi series “manages to conjure up the terrifying darkness at the heart of a serial killer in this chilling procedural” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The chaotic, shadowy city of Naples proves the perfect hunting ground for a killer dubbed “The Crocodile” by the press. Like a crocodile, when he devours his own children, he cries. And like a crocodile he is a perfect killing machine: He waits and watches until his prey is within range, and then he strikes.Three young people with very diverse backgrounds have been found murdered in three different neighborhoods, each shot with a single bullet, execution style. While his colleagues see little or no connection, Inspector Giuseppe Lojacono, smells a rat. Once an esteemed member of the mobile unit of the Agrigento police force, Lojacono was accused of leaking sensitive information to the mob and has now lost everything―first and foremost the love of his wife and daughter. But now he’s been given a second chance and a shot at clearing his name. A young magistrate has heard of his preternatural skills and his incredible powers of observation and she thinks a man like him is needed in Naples. So it is that Inspector Lojacono is charged with finding the link between the three dead bodies. At the root of these murders, he will discover, is a pain that still burns, a sense of guilt than cannot be purged, and one all-consuming love. “A wonderfully suspenseful novel in which de Giovanni restores life to the cliché of the world-weary detective.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Offers an elegant narrative and vividly rendered characters. It’s genuinely seductive.” ―Booklist

The Crocodile

Genre Fiction

Third in “a superb historical series set in Fascist Italy . . . and featuring one of the most melancholy detectives in European noir crime fiction” (The New York Times Book Review). Commissario Ricciardi has visions. He sees and hears the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths. It is both a gift and a curse. It has helped him become one of the most acute and successful homicide detectives in the Naples police force. But the horror and suffering he has seen has hollowed him out emotionally. He drinks too much and sleeps too little. His love life is a shamble. Other than his loyal partner, Brigadier Maione, he has no friends. Naples, 1931. Together with Brigadier Maione, Ricciardi is investigating the death of the beautiful and mysterious Duchess of Camparino, whose connections to privileged Neapolitan social circles and the local fascist elite make the case a powder keg waiting to explode. As Benito Mussolini’s state visit to Naples looms and authorities frantically seek to clean up the city’s image, Ricciardi will stop at nothing to find the duchess’s killer. “Reading a novel by Maurizio de Giovanni is like stepping into a Vittorio De Sica movie. The sights and smells of Naples are pungently evoked.”―The New York Times Book Review “Combines a rare setting for a whodunit, Fascist Italy, with a classic fair-play puzzle and a highly unusual lead . . . a lyrical and tantalizing opening . . . intriguing.”―Publishers Weekly (starred review) “In the popular field of historical noir featuring gloomy but brilliant detectives, de Giovanni’s series easily stands out as a success.”―Library Journal (starred review)

Everyone in Their Place: The Summer of Commissario Ricciardi (Commissario Ricciardi, 3)

The fourth Commissario Ricciardi historical mystery―following Everyone in Their Place―is “a superb novel for fans of Italian noir” (Library Journal, starred review). Commissario Ricciardi has visions. He sees and hears the final moments in the lives of those who have suffered violent deaths. It may be a talent or it may be a curse, but it has helped him become one of the most successful homicide detectives in the Naples police force. It’s a rainy autumn in 1930s Naples as its inhabitants celebrate the week of the dead. Ricciardi’s instincts tell him that the death of a street urchin is actually murder, but investigating the homicide is not going to be easy. The authorities want to avoid any sign that things are not as they ought to be in Naples, for they are preparing for the state visit of Benito Mussolini. Ricciardi will have to conduct his investigation hidden from the eyes of his superiors. What’s worse, his sixth sense is no help to him this time; the scene of the crime is silent, still, not a word or a sign, or even a scream from the dead. Has his unwelcome gift finally faded? Or is something more sinister at work? “De Giovanni’s slashing wit cuts deeply into his cameo portraits of the high and mighty, even as his elegant style ennobles the wretched lives he views with such compassion.”―The New York Times Book Review “De Giovanni is a masterful plotter and sub-plotter; it’s a joy to ease into his complete command of his craft . . . These are murder mysteries raised to a brilliant level.”―Open Letters Monthly

The Day of the Dead: The Autumn of Commissario Ricciardi

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