Pietro Brambati was born in Milan, and for twenty years he worked as a copywriter in the image sector of large-scale distribution. He has already published the novels entitled: Story of Aaron, Deadly challenge, Double play And No holds barred. Now he returns to the bookstore with a novel entitled Crime at Porta Vittoriaalso published by the Leone Editore publishing house.
A story full of mystery and intrigue:
Similar intrigues, but rather from a vague and yet conscious fear of entering a dark territory, full of traps and pitfalls, from which he would no longer be able to escape unless flayed in soul and body.
The detective novel tells the life story of Ernesto Cazzaniga, a man in his fifties, with a wife and two grown-up children. His existence is a peaceful routine, he lives with his wife in a delightful villa, just outside Milan, he works in a bank, with a very respectable managerial role, he is a man who is all about home and work, on weekends he dedicates himself to taking care of garden and vegetable garden.
Marriage follows calm and somewhat routine tracks, after such a long time. No radical changes, everything very soft. Even a little boring, to be honest. Until Ernesto, on the train that is taking him to work, one morning like many others, meets a lady:
“It did not take long to establish two facts of absolute certainty: first, he had never seen her; second, in front of him sat the female specimen endowed with the most shocking beauty he had ever seen.”
It is a dazzling love affair, the outburst of an unbridled passion. Ernesto no longer understands anything, and he lives eternally waiting for her to show up by phone to tell him the location of their appointments:
“When at a quarter past six he left the house and headed towards his car, walking as if in a trance and still disconcerted by the violence with which she had possessed him, literally taking over his body like a voracious and tireless insect, he was floating in a kind of bliss that made him detached from the surrounding reality.”
Until one last appointment was fatal for Enrico. Because instead of having another steamy encounter, he ends up with the beautiful dead woman:
“On an enormous double bed, lying on her stomach with her hair disheveled and her round buttocks gilded by the sun’s rays, lay abandoned the body of a woman whom he didn’t have a moment’s hesitation in recognizing.”
Who wanted his death? And in reality, who was that woman, who had revealed very little about herself? For Enrico, mystery is added to mystery, and what will be worse is that he will be involved in a story that will see his life completely destroyed. Will he be able to get out of it and overcome everything?
An intriguing story, which piece by piece reveals itself in all its narrative power. For lovers of yellow, a nice gem; for others a pleasant discovery.
The genre novel offers an overwhelming reading, which rests its narrative pillars in a fluid and simple language, rich in dialogue, which can be appreciated. The plot is very well constructed, and only at the end does it have its natural end, which comes completely unexpectedly. The characters are captured in their intimate essence and described very meticulously.
A noir characterized by:
“Betrayals, passion and a mysterious past. A perfect mix for a macabre murder.”
A human story at the limit, where Evil destroys every good feeling. An enjoyable read that is appreciated.
