Book Synopsis:
In a quiet village surrounded by the imposing Italian Alps, a series of brutal assaults take place.
Police inspector Teresa Battaglia is called in when the first body is found. Soon more victims are discovered – all horrifically mutilated – and when a new-born baby is kidnapped, Teresa’s investigation becomes a race against the clock.
But Teresa is also fighting a battle against her own body, weighed down by age and diabetes, and her mind, once invincible and now slowly gnawing away at her memory…
Flowers Over The Inferno is available in ebook and hardback now. The ebook is currently only £1. 99. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
Ooh this was a very interesting, atmospheric crime novel that manages to be different in a popular genre.
Firstly I loved the wonderful team of Teresa and Massimo who seemed very well suited to each other. Teresa is more old school with lots of knowledge and experience to bring to the case which is normally given in an amusingly abrupt way. Massimo is young and keen to learn so although they originally grate on each other they eventually manage to work together really well. It was so nice to see this relationship development and to see the two of them start to become a team.
The story goes back and forth spanning quite a few timelines and is told from a few points of view which was initially a bit confusing until I got used to it. I felt this helped to add to the tension and intrigue in the story as things are slowly revealed. The isolated setting also helped add to the menace as you get a sense of the villagers living by their own rules.
The murder investigation is very intriguing and I enjoyed watching the detectives try to solve the case. The descriptions of the murders are quite graphic and gory at times which might not be to everyone’s case thought I found I was too interested in the story to care about this. The story brings up a few interesting topics that I found quite thought provoking and ensured that I continued thinking about the book long after I’d finished reading it.
This is the author’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Teresa as thought she was a fabulous main character, very different from normal police detectives. This book would also make a great book for a book club or reading group as I feel there would be lots to discuss.
Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Gigi Croft from W&N publishers for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.
About The Author:
ILARIA TUTI lives in Friuli, in the far north-eastern part of Italy.
FLOWERS OVER THE INFERNO, her debut novel and the first book in the Teresa Battaglia trilogy, was a top 10 bestseller on publication and the biggest debut of 2018 in Italy. Rights for the novel have been sold in over 15 countries, making her one of the most internationally successful Italian authors of recent years.
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