The German Client by Bruno Morchio (A Bacci Pagano Investigation)

Synopsis

In a hospital corridor, private investigator Bacci Pagano is keeping watch over Jasmìne Kilamba. If she lives, her testimony will shatter a notorious human trafficking ring. Seemingly out of nowhere, he is approached by an elderly German named Kurt Hessen who is searching for his Italian half-brother. Despite his better judgment, Pagano accepts the job. So many things, good and evil, happened when the Nazis occupied Genoa in 1944, what did it matter now? But it matters very much to someone and Pagano finds himself plunged into a world of old secrets and new lies in this wartime thriller where the bill for the sins of the past has come due . . . with interest.

Review

I do love all things Italian and when Kazabo Publishing emailed me about a review for a bestselling Italian crime novel I jumped at the chance. The German Client is by bestselling Italian author Bruno Morchio, and is part of his Bacci Pagano Private Investigator series. Whilst waiting outside his girlfriend Jasmíne’s room in the hospita,l Pagano is approached by Kurt Hessen, an elderly professor who wants Pagano to find his half brother. The investigation takes Pagano back to 1944 and the Partisans working against the Nazi regime. The further he digs the more the old Partisans close ranks. Secrets and lies of the past come into the present in this fast paced and intelligent thriller.

The German Client has a split timeline that sees Pagano investigating Hessen claims of a brother, and in 1944 when the Germans occupied Genoa. I loved this combination of historical fiction and thriller, it really worked well as alternate chapters told the stories of the partisans and the risks they took and how that all linked to Pagano’s investigation. The link between the two stories was that the young partisans of 1944 are now elderly and form the centre of Pagano’s investigation. I was fascinated that even sixty years later, their ideologies shattered, they still want to keep the secrets of that time to themselves.

Bacci Pagano is a real gritty and rough and ready type of private investigator. His girlfriend, Jasmíne, was kidnapped and victim of a human trafficking ring that Pagio had been investigating. She is in a coma after being attacked to stop her from giving testimony against the trafficking gang. There is a mention of him being in prison but he seems to be respected by both the community and the local police. Jasmíne’s kidnap and torture mirrors that of those captured during the war and shows that there is always a war to fight, just with different oppressors.

In 1944, the story centres around Tilde, who at nineteen is a messenger for the Resistance. She captures the attention of a young German Officer, who saves her life after she is arrested one night. Wanting to play a more important part she agrees to start a relationship with him to gain information. Interestingly, he is disenchanted with the war, and willing to impart information. However, Tilde is naive, believing everything he tells her and ending up pregnant. So many of the Partisans were young and idealists, showing courage and willing to go to any lengths for their cause, believing they could change the world when in fact it was themselves that the war would change forever.

Bruno Morchio paints a darker side to Italian life, not using the beautiful settings often used in books based in Italy. The setting of the industrial part of Genoa, with the pollution and dust that settles over the streets and houses, the prostitution, human trafficking, the criminal underworld add to the atmosphere of the book. The tension and mystery is kept throughout as the investigation and Kurt Hessen are not what they first seem, opening old wounds and with the past and present colliding.

The German Client is a dark and gritty mystery. The alternate time lines keep you wanting just one more chapter, compelling you to read on. I love that Kazabo publishing are bringing bestselling novels from around the world to the English language and I look forward to reading more books like this.