Magdalen Nabb

A prominent writer is found dead in the Villa Torrini outside of Florence without any marks of physical harm on her. Her husband, who was heavily intoxicated in the next room, is exhibiting signs of guilt, but the carabinieri are having trouble finding concrete evidence against him. Marshal Guarnaccia, who is already struggling with a strict diet and the intricacies of a new legal system, has little faith in his own ability to solve the case, but...

Out giving his wife driving lessons, Marshal Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri witnesses a disturbance in the streets involving a local eccentric, “crazy Clementina.” When the woman is found dead in her apartment soon after the incident of an apparent suicide, the marshal is puzzled and immediately suspects foul play. But who would have a motive to kill her? As the marshal dives into the case and reconstructs Clementina’s tragic past,...

It is just before Christmas and the marshal wants to go South to spend the holiday with his wife and family, but first he must recover from the flu (which has left the Florentine caribinieri short-handed) and also solve a murder. A seemingly respectable retired Englishman, living in a flat on the Via Maggio near the Santa Trinita bridge, was shot in the back during the night. He was well-connected and Scotland Yard has despatched two officers to "assist"...

The eighth Marshal Guarnaccia investigation

A member of one of the oldest aristocratic families in Florence is dead. When Marshal Guarnaccia arrives at the scene, in the courtyard of the crumbling Palazzo Ulderighi, he knows instinctively that something is amiss. The evidence suggests suicide, the family—including the victim’s wife, the financially troubled Marchesa Ulderighi—insists it was an accident, and the Marshal...

The Twelfth Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation
When an elderly woman drops by the Florentine carabinieri to complain that someone broke in to her apartment while she was out, Marshal Guarnaccia listens patiently, offers advice, and vows to pay her a visit. But before he can keep his promise, Miss Hirsch is found dead, her throat cut. She wasn’t the only person to come to the Marshal for help in recent days. There’s also a young...

“A final reminder of why [Nabb] is irreplaceable among English speaking novelists who write mysteries with Italian locales. Like the 13 previous novels in this series set in Florence and featuring Marshal Guarnaccia, Vita Nuova reflects the sensibility of someone who sees much, speaks softly and takes pity on strangers.” —The New York Times Book Review
Marshal Guarnaccia’s sense of malaise...

The seventh Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation
For the first time, Marshal Guarnaccia is assigned to be lead on a murder investigation. When the dismembered body of a beautiful woman turns out to be that of a transsexual prostitute, the marshal must leave his snug home near the Pitti Palace for the shadowy underworld of Florence’s sex trade. Another transsexual is then arrested for the murder, but the marshal is convinced the Carabinieri...