Book Review: The Italian Girl

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Italian Girl     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Patricia Hall
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Noir
Series: Laura Ackroyd & Michael Thackeray # 5
St. Martin's, May 2000, $21.95, 208 pp.

An abundance of construction work is going on in Bradfield, England until machine operator Paul O'Hallorhan uncovers a buried skull. The police shut down the area in order to retrieve the rest of the skeleton. The remains turn out to be an unknown female teenager. Reporter Laura Ackroyd's grandmother believes that the body is that of Mariella Bonnetti, a sixteen-year old who vanished fifty years ago and was never heard from again. Laura's lover DCI Michael Thackery is assigned the case and sets out to locate witnesses to an event that occurred in 1953.

Laura worries about her grandmother's placement in a nursing home after the senior citizen took a fall. She shows no interest in Michael's case. Her editor wants her to interview former matinee idol John Blake. Laura is unaware that these two seemingly innocuous incidents tie into Michael's investigation and leaves her facing danger from a perpetrator who thought they committed the perfect crime on England's last Coronation Day.

Laura and Michael represent the dark side of the human condition, flawed by their respective pasts, which makes them unable to take the next step towards a commitment together. They live for today, but that too is fraught with concerns and anxieties as Michael battles his conscience and Laura worries about her independence. The murder investigation serves as a catalyst that allows them to confront a killer as well as their own selves. THE ITALIAN GIRL is bleak yet compelling novel that shows the darker side of British town life. Patricia Hall shows much talent as she creates a fascinating, atmospheric British police procedural relationship drama for people to enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner