A little murder for the holidays, anyone? Christobel Kent's 2006 mystery A Florentine Revenge is the story of what came before. Before what, you ask? Felony & Mayhem, Kent's US publisher (and a wonderful resource for a variety of mysteries both contemporary and vintage, so do check them out), has so far released only two Sandro Cellini mysteries (there appear to be four with the latter two issued by a different publisher, but beware as some of the titles vary between UK and US editions). Sandro Cellini is a disgraced former policemen who is working as a private investigator in Kent's first proper Cellini mystery, The Drowning River (or A Time of Mourning in the UK). But there is a story behind Sandro Cellini's current situation.
I wanted to know that story behind the story, to know what came before. And that's the story that Kent tells in A Florentine Revenge. It seems to be marketed as a standalone novel (not in print in the US), and indeed Sandro doesn't make a serious entry into the story until things are well under way. Florence is the setting, and behind the city's picturesque exterior lurks something dark and sinister.
The story opens with a murder. Actually there will be two murders fifteen years apart. Let's go back those fifteen years to one hot, sultry summer when a British family is vacationing in Florence. It's August and they are in a city emptied of natives who have taken to the countryside. The heat has taken the tourists by surprise. It's so hot that the hotel pool the family is staying at has cracked, so the hotel has made arrangements for the family to use the pool at the Olympia Club.
Crimes involving children are always especially disturbing. But a crime against a small child would have been almost unheard of at the time and in this place. So the parents of the small girl didn't give a second thought to letting her go for an ice cream at the club bar and even less so when she needed to visit the loo. "Had they watched her go, smiling at her independence, her determination? Had they congratulated themselves on not wrapping her in cotton wool?" Maybe in the moment, but less so when they called after her and there was no reply.
A week later the girl's body was found floating in the river. Questions were asked, an investigation followed, but no suspect was ever taken into custody and charged with the murder. That same summer Celia Donnelly is newly arrived from England as well, fresh out of university and watching the story unfold in horror. Fifteen years later she is still in Florence and has adapted to the city and made it her own--so much so that she now has a coveted job as a tourist guide. This is a city rich in culture, history and heritage and it takes itself very seriously. Not just anyone can be a guide to show off the cities marvels. But Celia has managed it.
This weekend, it's a cold December weekend just before the Christmas holiday, she has taken on as clients a married couple from England. They are a wealthy couple, he older and distinguished and she a much younger wife. Lucas Marsh is in Florence on business but has brought his wife Emma along for a celebratory weekend as she is enjoying a birthday. It's her first visit but a return visit for him. No holds barred and no expense too great, he wants Emma to see the city's gems and have a smash birthday dinner celebration which will take place in a luxury restaurant in a room complete with a rare painting of a Madonna and child.
So where does Sandro come into all this? A murder has been committed, seemingly unrelated to anything else in the story. The body of a man has been discovered in the empty pool at the old Olympia Club, which is long stood vacant and is in a state of dilapidation and neglect. The Italian policeman's path will cross with those of the Englishman, his wife and the tour guide. Of course it is the unravelling of the deaths that the story concerns itself with, but there is more to the story than just mystery solving.
This is a slow burn story and one where the relationship of Lucas and his wife, Celia's history in the city and Sandro's failing marriage all help form the story and solve the crime. It's how Sandro handles the murder of the man in the pool, and why he ended up there in the first place that sends him into early retirement, just saved from the ignominy of dismissal.
A Florentine Revenge is an enjoyable story, but a slow moving mystery. I think I can understand why it sits off on its own as surely the books that come next likely come into their own storywise. Sandro doesn't take main stage until well into the story and the mystery in some regards seems almost secondary to what else is happening. Most interesting is the relationship between Sandro and his wife Luisa, which is revealed in bits and pieces--scenes from their past, their sorrows and failures. Not altogether unexpectedly the mystery will bring them together and sets things up nicely for the real mysteries to take place.
I'm not sure if Celia, who enjoyed such prominence here, will have a place in the next book, but I am sure Luisa will be there and I look forward to seeing how the pair get on and learning more about their lives. And more mystery with such an elegant setting. The Florentine descriptions, with the softly falling snow, was at times magical. It's hard to pass up such a destination, and if I weren't already in the middle of two other mysteries, I would greedily snatch up The Drowning River for more of Sandro and Luisa.