<DIV><p>Praise for the Marshal Guarnaccia series:</p> <p>&ldquo;This elegant series, which began in 1981 with <I>Death of an Englishman </I>. . . is set in Florence, a city that glows in the Tuscan sun. . . . [His] sense of estrangement accounts for Guarnaccia&rsquo;s special perspective on strangers, those &lsquo;innocents&rsquo; among the living and the dead.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>The New York Times Book Review</I></p> <p>&ldquo;Lean, elegant prose that surpasses the best of Simenon, along with a puckish view of the Florentines from Guarnaccia&rsquo;s Sicilian perspective.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Kirkus Reviews</I></p> <p>&ldquo;The richest mystery here, however, is Florence itself, whose intricate politics and class structure Nabb parses with precision and wit.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>The Washington Post</I></p> <p>&ldquo;Great local atmosphere and rich characterizations.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Publishers Weekly</I></p> <p>&ldquo;A superb series. . . . A working-man&rsquo;s Maigret.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Booklist</I></p> <p>&ldquo;Crime fiction at its best.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>The Sunday Times</I> (London)</p> <p>&ldquo;Guarnaccia&rsquo;s Florence is a delightful place to visit.&rdquo;&mdash;<I>Mystery Scene</I></p> <p>Summoned by an aged woman to investigate mysterious noises in the vacant flat next to hers, Marshal Guarnaccia discovers a dying Dutch jeweler. The old lady had known him when he was a boy growing up in Florence. Could he have returned to the family home just to commit suicide? Or could the man be the victim of a cunning murderer?</p> <p> <b>Magdalen Nabb</b> was born in Lancashire. She has lived in Florence since 1975 and has written twelve Marshal Guarnaccia mysteries. This is the second in the series.</p></DIV>