Windows To The World

Marshal Makes His Report by Magdalen Nabb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Marshall, whose name is Salvatore Guarnaccia, although the author never uses it , referring to him all the time as The Marshall, gets called to the site where a dead body has been found.  The place is an ancient Florentine castle and the corpse was once Buongiannini Corsi a wealthy producer of a famous aperitif and the husband to Marchesa Ulderighi a member of the onetime ruling classes.





The Marshall had been watching the uniquely violent Florentine football which resembled a melee between aggressive males fighting almost to the death with no holds barred. The only restriction is that one player may not kick another in the head. These games are preceded by great pagentry because they originated centuries ago at a time when the players were mostly sons of the nobility. From Sicily himself, the Marshal doesn't understand Florentine ways and wonders if all the participants in the game should be arrested for assault.




So the Marshall doesn't appreciate the game and any diversion is acceptable. But from the moment the Marshall enters the castle he gets a feeling of claustrophobia and a foreboding of evil. A young man explains to him that this feeling is quite the norm inside these palaces in Florence. They were built to keep people out, rather than invite them in. It is one city where the great houses have their backs on the streets and the facade and gardens on the inside. The Marshall also has the feeling that he is observed at all times.


The Marshall is asked to make a report on the death and he fears that because he is dealing with very powerful people his job and life here in Florence is at risk. The Marchesa won't condescend to answer questions. The scion of the family is a young man who has ailed most of his life but he is quite intuitive, intelligent and simplistic. He holds the answer to many of the questions the Marshall has but he is guarded well. Only the tenants are willing to give information. They are here because the family rents out some apartments in order to make some money.

The Marshal goes forward in the routine of investigation and uncovers secrets that have existed in the  long past and exist in the present.

The facts are straight foreword, but the people are not and Magdalen Nabb tells an excellent story with a wonderful atmosphere and a inevitable conclusion. The Marshall and his cases are addicting.