Jeff Noon

Strewn with foreign bodies

Jeff Noon reviews thrillers from Marco Vichi, Kristen Lepionka, Mario Vargas Llosa and Gary Raymond

issue 30 June 2018

Ghosts of the Past by Marco Vichi (Hodder, £18.99) is unashamedly nostalgic in tone. The title could not be more apposite. The action takes place in 1967, when Inspector Bordelli of the Florence police force is called to a house where a wealthy industrialist has been run through with a sword. Each member of the family is acting suspiciously, as are the various colleagues and associates of the deceased. Bordelli’s life is further complicated when an old friend, Colonel Arcieri, turns up in dire trouble and needing protection.

The case unfolds in a slow haze of interviews and recollections. Vichi takes his time to explore Bordelli’s mind, his thoughts and his feelings, especially concerning the past and love lost. The book yearns for a bygone age. It’s old-fashioned and leisurely, but none the worse for that. There are narrative tangents galore, and one or two of them might even loop back to throw light on the murder case.

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