Flowers Over The Inferno (A Teresa Battaglia thriller) by Ilaria Tuti

 

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2431 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (7 Feb. 2019)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07F15ZMWV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

In a quiet village surrounded by the imposing Italian Alps, a series of brutal assaults take place.

Police inspector Teresa Battaglia is called in when the first body is found. Soon more victims are discovered – all horrifically mutilated – and when a new-born baby is kidnapped, Teresa’s investigation becomes a race against the clock.

But Teresa is also fighting a battle against her own body, weighed down by age and diabetes, and her mind, once invincible and now slowly gnawing away at her memory…

 

Review

Flowers Over The Inferno is the first book in an exciting new series featuring Detective Superintendent Teresa Battaglia.  Teresa and her team are called to the village of Traveni, on the Italian Austrian boarder after the body of a man s found in the mountains.  The modus operandi is strange and Teresa and her team find themselves looking for a serial killer who is hiding in the mountains. The narration of this book moves between Teresa and the murder investigation and four children who live in the village, Mathias, Lucia, Diego and Oliver. There are also atmospheric and mysterious chapters about a palatial building on a rock in the Alps that is referred to as The School that are set in 1978.  Put all this together and you have an atmospheric and tense crime thriller.

The translation from Italian to English of Flowers Over The Inferno works well,  both characters and plot converted seamlessly.   The Italians are well known for their passionate and expressive language and this certainly comes across in this book.  At the beginning of some of the chapters Ilaria Tuti sets the scene with some wonderfully descriptive prose,  with impeccable attention to detail; it reminded me of the settings of the scene at the beginning of the acts in plays.  She also captures the atmosphere and village mentality of Traveni; a place where outsiders are looked at with suspicion as is any change.  Not only is it secluded in its location in the Alps but, also in its mentality, it is a closed community where they will protect one of their own and turn a blind eye to any problems.  This setting is perfect for a crime thriller; a secretive atmosphere, the wild landscape of the Alps, and the closed community of Traveni.  I also found it refreshing that it wasn’t set in one of the more well known cities or the more picturesque  towns or villages that are well known.

The lead character of Detective Superintendent Teresa Battaglia is also refreshing.  She is an older character, diabetic, having memory problems and struggling to physically keep up with her younger colleagues.  Mentally, she may have problems with memory, but she is still the best profiler and strategist who gets results.  The relationship with her male team is one of respect for her ability, but they also care about her and are like family.  Inspector Massimo Marini is new to her team, and I loved their relationship as he made mistakes, questioned decisions and tried a bit too hard to gain approval; it gave some humour and wit to the book.

I do find myself drawn to Italian and French translated novels, they seem to have something different about them but  I think it is the style of writing.  Flowers Over The Inferno lived up to my expectation of an Italian crime thriller with its atmospheric setting, tense plot line, wonderful characters and attention to detail. The historical chapters of The School left a chill and sense of unease and the investigation had a dark, creepy and compelling plot with a sense of foreboding throughout. I thought Flowers Over The Inferno a brilliant and refreshing crime thriller and I can’t wait for the next in the Teresa Battaglia series; an inspirational and original heroine, and a gripping plot line makes this a fabulous read.

 

I would like to thank Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Tracy Fenton for inviting me to take part in this blog tour, and for my copy of Flowers Over The Inferno.

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