‘Pentimento Mori’ by Valeria Corciolani.

Published by Kazabo Publishing,
15 July 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-94810429-6 (PB)

Dr Edna Silvera, a renowned art historian, starts the day by dealing with her demanding widowed mother (Zara) who has driven away six housekeepers in 5 months.  Having little influence with Zara, Edna has to persuade Ottavio, the only person who seems to be able to cope with Zara, to sort matters out (in return for a 1668 engraving he particularly likes). 

Having had quite enough stress, she is not pleased when Eduardo Schiaffino, Vice-Provost and the head of the Department of Art History in which she is an honorary professor and researcher, turns up at her house to persuade her to represent the department at an event in Siestri marking the 700^th Anniversary of Dante’s death.  As it is being organised by two of her former students, Edna realises that she can’t refuse.  To finish off a bad day, she discovers that she has a new neighbour, when he roars up on a motorcycle and hits her henhouse (whose inhabitants are named after film stars of an earlier era).

The next day Edna drives to Siestri, where she meets Orietta Repetto (a Councillor for the local Municipality) who takes her to meet other colleagues involved with the event.  On the way, a large branch becomes stuck between the front wheels of Edna’s car.  They stop at a local junk shop, in the hope that the proprietor might have some useful tools.  Inside the shop Edna finds what appears to be a medieval painting on a wooden panel among the junk and Orietta finds the dead body of the proprietor, Nando Folli.  Inevitably, things get much more exciting, as Edna’s interest in the ‘medieval’ painting leads her and her colleagues into dark places and doesn’t impress the police. 

Edna herself is a great lead character, with intelligence, wit and a brooding level of annoyance.  Her knowledge of art history gives life to the wooden panel and the circumstances in which it was painted.  She copes with unusual events and difficult people with an edgy calmness, showing great determination and self-belief in pursuing the solutions to the various stands of the puzzle.  There is a good cast of other characters, all carefully introduced and woven into the plot, sometimes re-appearing in unexpected places.  The book combines murder and historical mystery and the problems of daily life into a most enjoyable read

The author has written a number of books, but this is the only one that has been translated into English so far.  We must hope for more translations!
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Reviewer: Jo Hesslewood

Valeria Corciolani was born and lives in the seaside town of Chiavari on the Italian Riviera. She is the author of fourteen novels and the recipient of numerous awards including Best Mystery Writer of the Year in 2022. In addition to being a writer, Valeria is an accomplished illustrator and animator and an instructor in Fine Arts.

Jo Hesslewood.  Crime fiction has been my favourite reading material since as a teenager I first spotted Agatha Christie on the library bookshelves.  For twenty-five years the commute to and from London provided plenty of reading time.  I am fortunate to live in Cambridge, where my local crime fiction book club, Crimecrackers, meets at Heffers Bookshop .  I enjoy attending crime fiction events and currently organise events for the Margery Allingham Society.