Mystery

Fantasmi del passato

(Ghosts from the Past)

Ugo Guanda Editore, July 2014, pp.512

The novels featuring Inspector Bordelli have sold over 300,000 copies !

A family cloaked in secrets. A powerful and beguiling woman. A unique setting. Inspector Bordelli is back to solve one of the most difficult cases of his entire career.

Florence, winter 1967, a year after the flood devastated the city. Inspector Bordelli has to solve a really intricate mystery: the murder of a wealthy industrialist, Antonio Migliorini, found dead in his own villa in the hills of Florence and killed with a foil from the victim’s collection. He was widely loved and respected by everyone. Widowed for several years, Migliorini easily fell under the spell of women. Bordelli patiently starts to retrace the victim’s last days and to speak with relatives and friends, but it all leads to nothing. One day, he bumps into a shabby old man who looks familiar… His name is Bruno Arcieri, a retired colonel and former member of the Secret Service, whom Bordelli met before for professional reasons. It looks like the colonel is hiding himself, but who from? How has he ended up in this situation? Bordelli invites him to stay in his country house. Sitting by the fire, the two men start sharing their secrets like old friends. Arcieri tells Bordelli what lies behind his desperate situation and what he is determined to do even at the cost of his life… Moreover, just like a heaven-sent help, the colonel will be able to identify a mysterious woman Bordelli doesn’t even know where to look for, a woman who will disclose the detail he needs to track down the killer…

Ugo Guanda Editore, July 2014, pp.512

  • “A real find for anyone who likes their crime novels atmospheric, humorous and thought-provoking.”

    The Guardian

  • “Italian writers are justifiably growing in popularity here: Marco Vichi deserves to be among them… Bordelli is stubborn, womanless, cynical and impatient, but strangely appealing.”

    The Times

  • “This is a promising series”

    Literary Review

  • “Inspector Bordelli is magnetic and melancholic like a Chandler hero”

    La Repubblica

  • “We like Inspector Bordelli for that nostalgic ‘the way we were’ atmosphere…. an almost chandlerian policeman.”

    Il Sole 24Ore

Marco Vichi

Marco Vichi was born in Florence in 1957 and currently lives in the Chianti region. He is one of the most successful Italian crime novelists and has been shortlisted as one of the best Italian authors of the decade by the national newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Vichi has many novels to his credit, all published by Guanda: L’inquilino (The Lodger, 1999), Donne donne (Women Women, 2000, new edition 2008), Il brigante (The Bandit, 2006), Nero di luna (Moon Black, 2007), Un tipo tranquillo (A Peaceful Guy, 2010), La vendetta (Revenge, 2012), Il contratto (The Contract, 2012), La sfida (The Dare, 2014), Il console (The Consul, 2015) and Per nessun motivo (For no Reason Whatsoever). In 2002, Vichi started writing the popular series featuring Inspector Bordelli.

In the series devoted to Inspector Bordelli, the following titles have been published, all by Guanda: Il commissario BordelliUna brutta faccendaIl nuovo venutoMorte a Firenze (Premio Giorgio Scerbanenco – La Stampa 2009 for the best Italian noir), La forza del destinoFantasmi del passatoNel più bel sogno and L’anno dei misteri.

He is the editor of two collections of short stories, two graphic novels and has also written screenplays, music lyrics and radio scripts. He supports and works with several humanitarian projects.

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