I got this book at a sale as a cancelled library book. I think I know why it was cancelled.

First, if you haven’t been to Florence like me, one thing will drive you nuts within minutes. Yes, Vichi likes his shopping lists to describe a scene, but even more so, loves naming every single street that his characters pass through in Florence. One paragraph can hold more than five street names. All very well if you speak Italian or have been to that particular city otherwise a boring unnecessary inclusion.

Perhaps the worst thing about this book has been mentioned by other reviewers, a shockingly disjointed plot. First the ugly death of a child. Nothing. A flood. Moving on, a ridiculous ramble about sex with a much younger woman, then a hunch on the child’s killer. Next a long detailed gruesome recounting of paedophile crimes. Young woman raped. End of story

And the Flood of Florence came across as an artificial contrivance to carry an older man’s fantasy.

Yes, there’s a late 50s man who eats, drinks, smokes to excess and seems to suffer no effects from any of the above let alone have flatulence, foul breath, obesity, or get pulled over for drink-driving. What a picture of attractiveness especially when it came to the bedroom scenes with the dropdead gorgeous 25-year-old.

Another fantasy author. Masquerading as a mystery writer. I’ll give him the final scenes where the girl turns her back on Bordelli. I did half way through when I started skipping paragraphs.

When I was a younger woman, I can assure Mr Vichi that my friends and I did not look at 60-year-old‘s who didn’t look after themselves and think “ I have to be with this man.” Stunning girls, even moderately pretty ones looked for guys not far from their own age. The girls who did look at grandpas were seen as somewhat peculiar and to be honest they were pitied. Now I’m older, unless it’s ironic, I really don’t want to read about men living in the past.

I can’t believe this book was written in 2009.

A gripping and atmospheric crime novel that continues to delve into the troubled mind of Inspector Bordelli, set against the backdrop of a city under siege by natural disaster and political unrest. Set in the winter of 1966, when the Arno River floods Florence, the novel merges the chaos of the city with the darkness of Bordelli’s latest case: the sudden dark disappearance of a young boy.

Vichi masterfully uses the setting to enhance the tension of the story. The floodwaters of Florence become a metaphor for the moral and emotional deluge Bordelli faces as he navigates a city torn apart not just by nature but by the lingering aftershocks of fascism and war. The descriptions of the devastated city are vivid and haunting, and you can almost feel the cold dampness of the flooded streets as Bordelli trudges through them in search of answers.

Bordelli is at his most complex—he’s not just solving a mystery but wrestling with his own disillusionment with the justice system and his growing sense of isolation. The case is, dark, personal, and his determination to find the missing boy pulls him into a world of corruption, hypocrisy, and deep-rooted trauma. Vichi’s portrayal of the inspector’s growing frustration, both with the case and with society, makes Bordelli more relatable than ever, a flawed but deeply moral character.

I really enjoy these series of books because they are not typical "who dunnits" or complicated puzzles to solve. Instead, the author focuses on his main character, a lonely, middle-aged, and unconventional police inspector with PTSD from his wartime experiences and issues with women stemming from his childhood (fully explained in Book #1 of the series). These books are more about his daily experiences and relationships as he goes about his work, as well as a snapshot of Florence and Italy in the 1960s - from its political climate, to the (still) aftereffects of WWII, to the daily life of Florentines - from the rich and powerful to those on the outskirts. Bordelli sometimes interprets the law loosely and befriends colorful characters. Perhaps because it's a different kind of mystery book focusing on character that I find it more interesting. Life did not live up to its promises for Bordelli (or for post-war Italy), yet he carries on hopefully. This book also portrays the devastating flood that happened in Florence in 1966. SPOILER ALERT: This is the first book of the series in which the ending is not neat and tidy, and Bordelli experiences the full breadth of corruption from those in power.

This book was much more about the detective and life in Florence than about the mystery but still a good read. At times the translation was a bit awkward.

Set in Florence in 1966 during the devastating flood which destroyed much of the beautiful city, Inspector Franco Bordelli is in charge of the baffling case of a missing 13 year old boy. Frustrated by the lack of progress & his knowledge that there are no leads, Bordelli, another flawed & disillusioned cop in the twilight of his career, spends a good deal of the plot involved in unrelated activities while his faithful underlings doggedly continue with seemingly fruitless stake-outs. I liked Bordelli as a character & Vichy certainly paints a very atmospheric portrait of Florence, particularly the effects on day to day life caused by the catastrophic flood. The book also has many historic & political references about the era. It was a very unusual crime story in that we learn of the initial crime on page 1, and of its gruesome aftermath soon after. But, until the very end of the book, it is more about their inability to solve the crime, than a page-turning, action-packed thriller. Was there too much about Bordelli’s personal life & his internal musings? I’m not sure.

Update 11/10/22

I would agree with all I said previously, although now with hindsight and knowing what is coming, this book was an excellent read and really sets up the following book. I do wish more of this series has been translated into English, about 4 or 5 years since the last book was translated.

Original Review
Fantastic again, really enjoying Inspector Bordelli, a child murder amongst a hellish flood. A rollercoaster of a story and some quite unsavoury moments and themes.

Sort of justice at the end but I'd have liked to see more meted out. I am interested to read the next book and see if there is any continuity with the events of this one.

Out of the four I have read so far, I would have this ranked second.

¿Novela negra?

El principal problema de este libro es que se etiqueta y vende como una novela negra. Y en parte lo es, pero todo lo relativo a la investigación policial ocupa un ¿30? ¿35%? del libro. Lo demás son las tribulaciones y dudas existenciales de un hombre de mediana edad, junto con su día a día.

El autor es extremadamente detallista en cuanto a lo que hace el personaje. Hasta el punto de que prácticamente nos cuenta lo que hace desde que se levanta hasta que se acuesta cada jornada

En algunas partes falta ritmo. Sin embargo se hace llevadero porque está medianamente bien escrito

I picked this book up on a whim at a bookstore in Milan, and was surprised at what a found. It is not your typical murder mystery. It is more about the cynics and embittered inspector, the flooding on Florence, memories of WW2, and he crime doesn’t really pick up until the last 70 pages. I enjoyed it, but it dropped to 4/5 just because it ended so abruptly without a satisfying resolution and the crime, while solved, remains unproven. I guess I’ll have to buy the next book with promises to tie up the loose ends.

Quel deception!
Un début de roman très prometteur. On se trouve à Florence dans les années soixante. L'histoire suit le Commissaire Bordelli dans un enquete très particulière: Un enfant retrouvé mort dans la foret avoisinante. J'ai beaucoup aimé la plume de l'auteur, il était aussi très agréable de retourner à Florence et de reconnaitre les rues et quartiers mentionnés. Je pouvais très bien imaginer où se trouvaient les personnages et ce qu'ils voyaient.
En revanche, je pense que l'auteur a voulu écrire plusieurs histoires en meme temps et le roman a perdu son souffle.
Premièrement, l'enquete au final ne représente qu'un tier de l'histoire. On s'attend à une belle enquete et on est vite déçus.
Deuxiemement, au beau milieu du roman on change completement de sujet principal et l'histoire tourne alors autour des innondations de 1966, qui ont bouleversé la ville. Puis, l'auteur semble se souvenir qu'il avait commencé l'histoire avec une enquete, et tente de la ramener avec, honnetement, beaucoup de mal.
Troisièmement, je n'ai pas aimé le rapport aux femmes que le Commissaire Bordelli semble avoir. Des pensées typiques d'un italien narcissique qui dérangent et ont géné ma lecture.

Pour conclure, je pense que l'auteur a un beau niveau d'écriture qui aurait pu vraiment tranformer cette histoire en coup de coeur. Dommage qu'il se perde en cours de route et perde aussi tout l'interet du roman.