(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“It’s simply a matter of yellows, figs, vans, and kites…Why can’t I get a nice simple gang murder or an old-fashioned serial killer?”
Public Prosecutor Jacopo Bassi has had enough of this murder case, the victim being junk dealer Nando Folli.
However, the protagonist in this quirky, cozy Italian mystery is fifty-six-year-old Edna Silvera, an anti-social art historian and restorer who lives with her chickens that are named after old movie stars.
When she is required to represent her university at a festival in a small Ligurian town, she is less than enthusiastic. Why would she be interested in commemorating the seven-hundred-year anniversary of Dante’s death?
However, after some crazy mishaps, she finds herself at Nano Folli’s junk shop. There, she discovers a panel from the fifteenth century depicting Judas. She also finds a dead body. Edna can’t stay away from the first, while Prosecutor Bassi is more interested in the second.
While Pentimento Mori is an enjoyable read, I found it difficult to concentrate on all the excessive details of Edna’s artistic find. It was repetitive as she found more clues. What I enjoyed most were the eccentric characters and their individual stories, which drove the plot. They included Edna’s difficult mother Zara, Edna’s friend and musician Ottavio (who becomes Zara’s caregiver), housekeeper Kalina with an emotionally valuable frying plan, Nando Folli himself…and so many more.
So, if you are less demanding of a tight plot, but enjoy unusual, humorous crime stories with fun characters, you will probably enjoy Pentimento Mori. An entertaining summer read.
