Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries

7 primary works

I Will Have Vengeance

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 16 February 2012

Blood Curse

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 7 May 2013

Ricciardi sees and hears the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths. It is both a gift and a curse. It has helped him become one of the most acute and successful homicide detectives in Naples police force. But it has taken an emotional toll on him. Naples, 1931, in a dingy apartment in a poor neighbourhood an elderly woman moonlighting as a fortuneteller and moneylender has been viciously beaten to death. Then Ricciardi and his deputy Maione arrive at the scene and start asking questions no one wants to answer.

Everyone in Their Place

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 5 November 2013

The third book in a quartet of masterful crime novels set in fascist Italy. Naples 1931. Together with his indefatigable partner, Brigadier Maione, Ricciardi, a man driven into solitude by his paranormal 'gift' of seeing the final seconds of the lives of victims of violent deaths - a talent that also makes him a highly effective investigator - is conducting an investigation into the death of the beautiful and mysterious Duchess of Camparino, whose connections to privileged social circles and fascist elite make the case a powder keg waiting to blow.

The Day of the Dead

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 5 March 2014

The Commissario is investigating the death of Matteo, a street urchin. Commissario Ricciardi solves every crime with an uncanny swiftness that leaves his colleagues dumbfounded. Indeed, there are those who think his abilities are an ungodly gift to be exorcised. And maybe they're right: Ricciardi sees and hears the final moments in the lives of those who have suffered violent deaths. Ricciardi's instincts tell him that the dead boy is the victim of a murder. What's worse, his sixth sense is no help to him this time; the scene of the crime is silent...

By My Hand

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 5 August 2014

In a luxurious apartment on the Mergellina beach lie the bodies of a fascist militia officer and his wife. A statue of San Giuseppe, patron saint of workers, lies smashed on the floor near their bodies. Commissario Ricciardi, who possesses the dubious gift of being able to see and hear the last seconds in the lives of those who've suffered a violent death, listens to the enigmatic last words of the pair. Accompanied by his faithful partner, Brigadier Raffaele Maione, and distracted by the two women who vie for his attention, Ricciardi will have to search Naples for the truth

The Bottom of Your Heart

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 3 November 2015

In the middle of a summer heat wave, as Naples prepares for one of its most important holy days, a renowned surgeon falls to his death from his office window. For Commissario Ricciardi and Brigadier Maione it is the beginning of an investigation that will bring them into contact with the most torrid, conflicting, and enduring of human passions. In the world Ricciardi and Maione are about to enter, infidelity appears inextricable from the most joyful expressions of love, and, this interdependence sows doubt and uncertainty in both men, compromising their personal lives. 

Ricciardi is one of the most intriguing and unique figures to appear in crime fiction in recent years. He possesses the dubious gift of being able to see and hear the last seconds in the lives of those who have suffered a violent death. This makes him an unusually effective investigator, but it also renders real human relationships almost impossible. He is a classic noir hero and the cursed son of a city that, for all its Mediterranean splendor, is a perfect noir setting. 

In this new installment in the Commissario Ricciardi series, Maurizio de Giovanni proves once again why he is considered one of the best crime writers working today.

Nameless Serenade

by Maurizio de Giovanni

Published 7 August 2018

That Autumn it seemed the rain in Naples would never stop, and Commissario Ricciardi found himself having to face not only a homicide but long-buried feelings that have grown thick roots inside him.
It’s been over fifteen years since Vinnie Sannino left on a ship for America without telling anyone. There Vinnie found fame, success, and wealth as a boxer, becoming the middleweight champion of the world. But that all came to a terrifying halt when his last opponent died in the ring and Vinnie lost his desire to fight.
Now, he’s back in Italy in search of the woman he left behind, Cettina, the love of his life. But Cettina has moved on. She’s now a married woman. Or, she was until recently. Her husband, a wealthy businessman, has been found murdered. There’s no murder weapon to speak of. He was killed with a single blow to the head, not unlike the blow that felled Vinnie’s opponent in the ring on that fateful night in America.

PRAISE FOR THE COMMISSARIO RICCIARDI MYSTERIES

“A superb historical series.”—The New York Times

“Rich and strange.”—Barry Forshaw in the FT

“Fascinating mix of Christie-like whodunit and spooky thriller set in 1931 Naples.”—Shots Magazine

“The construction of Glass Souls is remarkable... The powerful rhythm with which the plot develops will surprise readers at every turn.”—La Repubblica