Mysteries to Die For Book Club: "Death of an Englishman" by Magdalen Nabb

The Mysteries to Die For Book Club is led by Elsie Souza, reading murder, mayhem, and marvelous prose. From Nordic noir to British whodunits, each book reveals how crime and storytelling cross borders, and what our favorite detectives can teach us about culture, justice, and the human heart.

This month, we're reading Magdalen Nabb's Death of an Englishman—a classic mystery that begins on a cold December morning in Florence, when a wealthy English expatriate is found shot to death in his apartment. With much of the city preparing for Christmas, Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia would rather be home in Sicily than puzzling over the murder of a man whose life seems to offer few obvious answers. The arrival of two detectives from Scotland Yard only complicates matters, and what begins as a seemingly straightforward investigation gradually opens onto the private lives, loyalties, and secrets of the people surrounding the dead man. First published in 1981, Death of an Englishman introduced Nabb's beloved Marshal Guarnaccia and the Florence that would become as essential to the series as its detective. Wry, understated, and wonderfully atmospheric, it's a mystery less interested in flashy deductions than in watching people closely—and noticing what they would prefer to keep hidden.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Introducing Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Florentine carabinieri, a Sicilian stationed far from home. He wants to go south for Christmas to spend the holiday with his family, but he is laid up with the 'flu. At this awkward moment, the death of a retired Englishman is reported. A most inconvenient time for a murder case. Who has shot Mr Langley-Smythe in the back And why has Scotland Yard felt it appropriate to send two detectives, one of whom speaks no Italian, to 'help' the marshal and his colleagues with their investigation Most importantly for the marshal, ever the Italian, will he be able to solve the crime in time to join his family over the holiday seasonThis first book in the ever popular detective series is a wonderfully evocative piece of crime fiction and quasi-travel writing, as the reader is immediately transported into the heart of Florence, one of Italy's most beautiful cities.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Magdalen Nabb was born in the Lancashire town of Church in 1947. She studied both art pottery and in 1975 she moved to Florence, Italy, and started work as a potter. She started writing crime thrillers for adults whilst in Italy and then began writing for children with her Josie Smith series. In 1995 she won the Smarties book prize for The Enchanted Horse.