Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
'A perfect example of crime-and-pleasure, and it is an addition so. cunningly plotted that it is only at the end that you realise that not one strand of the intricate tapestry has been superfluous.' -- Antonia Fraser, Spectator

Sara Hirsch is a nervous elderly spinster who still lives in the Florentine flat in which she was raised. Frightened, she calls Marshal Guarnaccia for help, sure that strangers have been in her apartment. The marshal knows she is a lonely and terrified old woman, but he is preoccupied with an investigation into an, Albanian prostitution ring. Before he can respond to her latest alarm, she is found dead...

Magdalen Nabb's new Marshal Guarnaccia mystery sees the Marshal facing unsettling moral issues and a crisis of confidence in his judgement in an - as ever - stunningly observed Florence.

'Nabb's uncanny portrayal of Florence, its pace, scents, sounds, the thythm of its language, and, in this tale, the staggering-heat, is so vivid that the reader feels a sense of relief when the August rains shroud the city in a cooling mist. And the earnest Guarnaccia is a character so utterly real and sincere that we don't want him to merely solve the crimes.' -- Boston Globe

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste. A Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery. Arrow, ISBN: 0099443368 (February, 2004), 311 p., £6.99.

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste (USA 2003)

From the Publisher:
A fearful elderly spinster complains to Marshal Guarnaccia: someone has been in her apartment. He is too busy to investigate but when she is found dead, he is determined to find the culprits. His search brings him into confrontation with the past, with Jewish refugees from fascism, English expatriates and Albanian gangsters.

Praise for SOME BITTER TASTE
"It takes a writer as good as Magdalen Nabb to remind us how subtle the art of the mystery can be. She does make it look easy, though, in Some Bitter Taste, the 12th police procedural in her spare, elegant series set in Florence.. Nabb has Simenon's knack." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Artfully contrasts the small, comforting joys of family life with the marshal's frustrations in trying to provide security to his residents... Nabb's uncanny portrayal of Florence, its pace, scents, sounds, the thythm of its language, and, in this tale, the staggering heat, is so vivid that the reader feels a sense of relicf when the August rains shroud the city in a cooling mist." -- Boston Globe

"If you didn't make it to Florence this summer, don't despair. It was probably too crowded anyway and there's a new Marshal Guarnaccia investigation to keep you abreast of the sights, smells, tastes and traffic problems of that great Italian city." -- Chicago Tribune

"There is no other series quite like the Guarnaccia stories... in their moody charms... His tender heart casts a wide net; people trust him, talk to him, seem to feel he is more prescient than he knows he is. The result is a narrative in which the marshal serves as a mirror to the world around him." -- Washington Post Book World

"Strongly recommended for readers who like sophisticated, literate mysteries in foreign settings." -- Library Journal

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste. A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation. Soho Press, ISBN: 1569473390 (October, 2003), 272 p., $12.00.

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste (UK 2003)

From the Publisher:
When it comes to motives for crime, the past can never be forgotten...
Sara Hirsch is a nervous elderly spinster who still lives in the Florentine flat in which she was raised. Frightened, she calls Marshal Guarnaccia for help, sure that strangers have been in her apartment. The Marshal knows she is a lonely and terrified old woman, but he is preoccupied with an investigation into an Albanian prostitution ring. Before he can respond to her latest alarm, she is found dead.

The Marshal's search for the villains who precipitated her death brings him into confrontation with the past, with Albanian refugees and with English expatriates, including the ailing heir to the elegant Villa L'Uliveto, Sir Christopher Wrothesly...

Magdalen Nabb's new Marshal Guarnaccia mystery sees the Marshal facing unsettling moral issues and a crisis of confidence in his judgement in an - as ever - stunningly observed Florence.

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste. A Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery. Heinemann, ISBN: 0434010545 (January, 2003), 247 p., £9.99.

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
A sweltering summer in Florence and Marshal Guarnaccia is engaged in investigating an Albanian prostitution ring. But a never-ending stream of people fills the station waiting room at the Pitti Palace, all expecting him to sort out their little problems. One, Sara Hirsch, is a nervous, elderly spinster who fears that people have been in her apartment. Others have even more trivial concerns. He'd like to help every one but he can't attend to them right away.

His superiors summon the marshal to the elegant villa of a foreign billionaire, Sir Christopher Wrothesley, who has suffered a minor burglary. How do you make small talk with a man whose stolen hairbrushes are worth more than your year's salary, the marshal wonders. But he adds this investigation to his list.

Then he finds Sara Hirsch's body in a pool of blood behind her door. The marshal feels guilty and sets out to find the villain or villains responsible for her death.

Magdalen Nabb: Some Bitter Taste. A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation. Soho Press, ISBN: 156947317X (October, 2002), 247 p., $23.00.