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Vita Nuova
Guarnaccia's 14th Case
Published by Diogenes as Vita Nuova
Original Title: Vita Nuova
Guarnaccia is called in to handle a murder outside Florence. Signor Paoletti lives in an ostentatiously
renovated country estate with his wife, two daughters, his illegitimate grandchild and two household staff members. The oldest daughter, Silvana, has been brutally murdered. For Paoletti, it is clear that it is a case of murder and robbery, but Guarnaccia notices that the details do not match up. With the help of the tabloid journalist Nesti, who still owes him a couple of favours, Guarnaccia finds out that
Paoletti owes his fortune to a brief but highly lucrative career as a pimp. This puts Guarnaccia
on the alert, of course, because Paoletti is now running a temporary job agency, which imports cheap labour from central and eastern Europe. On the surface, everything is correct: All of the placed cleaning women, gardeners and au pairs have valid passports and visas. But there is something else going on, and this looks entirely different. The case takes such dramatic turns that Guarnaccia submits his resignation from the police force for the first time in his career – to protect himself and his family.
»It takes a writer as good as Magdalen Nabb to remind us how subtle the art of mystery can be… Nabb has Simenon's knack.«
The New York Times Book Review, New York
»Fascinating. Superb.«
The Times, London
»Completely original. Wonderfully satisfying.«
Observer, London
»A perfect example of crime-and-pleasure.«
Antonia Fraser
/ Spectator, London