I had high hopes for this book with the comparisons to the Inspector Montalbano series. Unfortunately this falls far short of the mark. Perhaps the translation is partly to blame - the writing didn't flow the way one would expect in crime fiction. The story itself appears to have promise but I wasn't enjoying the reading of it enough to continue and gave up about a third of the way through.

Commissario Arcadipane is called out to attend the discovery of some bones at a Torino building site. The powers that be quickly decide that these are war dead, and ask that the bones be given to them so that the victims can be identified and their relatives notified. Arcadipane is not convinced, and hangs onto one bone that looks like it has a more recent provenance.

Investigations point towards a cell of leftist students who were involved in a bombing, many of whom disappeared. Arcadipane asks his retired friend Bramard to help, since he was involved in the original arson inquiry. He also ropes in Isa, a rebellious young police officer with advanced investigative skills.

I liked this book, both for its unusual setting and for the way Longo rounded his characters and used their personal flaws to help drive his plot. The plot itself ended up a long way from where I thought it would go, and had a few unexpected twists. I believe that there is an early novel focusing on Bramard, which I intend to seek out.

Set in Northern Italy, Young Beasts at Play by Davide Longo, is a gradual untangling of a convoluted mystery of dead bodies and living but silent witnesses from Italy’s Fascist past.Commissario Arcadipane is assigned a case of 12 bodies discovered in the countryside near Torino. The next day a taskforce that specialises in working with mass graves from World War 2 moves into the case, but there is compelling evidence showing that at least one of the corpses was killed more recently. Arcadipane calls in a retired colleague and a young, troubled but brilliant officer and together they gradually unravel the mystery. Combining forensic science and sound local knowledge, the group discovers the identity of one of corpses and follows the trail to Spain where the whole case is resolved.

This story really does have a well created ending.This was an excellent read, thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable. The North Italian setting gave an exotic feel without the book turning itself into a poetic jaunt through Tuscan lavender fields. A rich and textured setting can help a book, but it can also overwhelm a plot and the characters; in this book the setting it was kept subdued. The characters were developed with such reality, flawed but principled and motivated, especially Arcadipane with his troubled home life and the historical relationship of his retired colleague with the facts and victims of the case. The plot began by resembling a giant mass of tangled string and by the end, it was untangled and everything was rolled away neatly.

Bravo.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Young Beasts at Play, the second novel to feature former police detective Corso Bramard, set in Torino.

Commissario Vincenzo Arcadipane suspects a cover up when the bones of 12 people are discovered and immediately attributed to a WWII mass grave. He enlists the help of his former boss, Corso Bramard and police misfit Isa Mancini for an unofficial investigation. He thinks that at least one body was buried in the seventies, due to operation marks on a thigh bone.

I was attracted to the novel by the comparison to Montalbano, but, apart from a certain amount of self doubt, I just can’t see it. For a start there is little of the humour and slapstick that pervade Montalbano’s adventures and this is a much heavier read, in terms of content and emotion.

I must admit that I struggled with Young Beasts at Play. It is a bit too literary for me with its desire to explore the characters’ emotions and thoughts. It also has quite an elliptical style when in the present, almost a stream of conscienceness narrative and I had difficulty concentrating on it and following it. I also disapproved of the casual misogyny in the book, the way women were described as if their appearance is their main trait.

On the other hand I liked the way the author structured the novel. He opens with the defining incident then switches to the present with the discovery of the bones and runs with it. Part two gets Corso to recap his investigation of the original incident, putting meat on the bones and Part 3 pushes on to some answers, although there is no neat bow on it.

The plot subject is interesting and informative. It’s all about the political turmoil and terrorism of the seventies. I was a teenager at the time so it didn’t really cross my radar in anything but headlines, so this fills in a few gaps. It seems a bit sensationalist in much of the detail, but not enough for me to dismiss it as not credible.

Young Beasts at Play is more literary than I am used to, so not for me.

Political thriller and police procedural addressing a cold case the authorities wished stayed buried forever.

During building excavations bones are found indicating a mass grave. The local police commissario investigates and evidence points initially to a more recent internment than casualties from the Second World War.
However, “the experts” stroll into town, Torino/Turin, to take over the case. Well to ‘kill’ the investigation, stating categorically these remains reflect the war years of struggle and armed conflict.

The investigation then takes on a three part story of firstly daring to find the truth; then re-uniting former police officers to understand the political actions of the revised timeframe of this more recent crime and finally understanding the truth the authorities wish remained consigned to history.

Three characters propel the story and each brings a certain charm to the investigation. The modern cop struggling through a midlife crisis; a retired cop for whom involvement in the first instance undermined his career and a troubled officer whose past impacts her own thinking and reflects the uncertainty of these former times.
I really enjoyed how these strands were woven together.
It is a little confusing at first but the quality and humour within the writing cast a spell over the reading process.

An original Italian audience would more quickly recognise their complex political struggles but nothing is lost in translation. Indeed the story is full of memorable lines and comic moments.

While some have elevated this author to the heights of Camilleri’s Montalbano series for me it reveals another talented writer. Where language, character, life in general from eating to relationships drives the story. Where words, even when translated, fashion a magical experience of another time and place.
I have read all of Andrea Camilleri’s Sicilian tales and based on this first novel from Davide Longo I have equal pleasure before me. I would encourage you to enjoy this taste of Northern Italy where coffee is consumed and talked about and food is both relished and eaten with little thought.

" "Northern Italy's answer to Inspector Montalbano" Alessandro Baricco" as blurbed on the book seems intensely puzzling to me as this is nothing like Camilleri's series with its tragi-comic tone, its farce, and its standout characters who leap of the page.

This feel more like a run-of-the-mill police procedural that could pretty much be set anywhere: perfectly competent, just nothing outstanding in a very crowded marketplace.

I began this book with certain expectations, seeing that it was hailed as 'Montalbano for northern Italy'. And initially I was perplexed, this is a darker, more complex book than the Montalbano, with a spare narrative style which can be confusing at times as dialogue and time shifts are sparsely signalled.

It begins with bones being discovered near Turin and an extremely world weary detective, Arcadipane, discovering that far from being the WW2 remains claimed by the authorities, it appears that they date from the 1970s. He works with a retired officer, Corso Bramard and a young disgraced officer, Isa, to solve this mystery.

I was put off by some of the casual misogyny - women are invariably described in terms of their breasts and bums - older women have saggy breasts and flabby bottoms, younger ones have small breasts or in one instance breasts that jut, asking for attention. I'm still unsure whether this is Arcadipane's view or the author's, but it jars, especially with repetition. Arcadipane is suffering from malaise, unable to get an erection and generally not behaving normally - so it could be that it is his perspective.

But overall it is a compelling read, once I got going I read it in one sitting. The historical background of Italy in the 70s, with La Lotta Continua and threats to democracy from far left groups is well done. Once I had the chance to think about the plot I realised that some of the many coincidences and links between the three main characters and past events are somewhat improbable to say the least, but at the time of reading I was fully immersed and believed in these.

In many ways it is a dreamlike read, the author succeeds in pulling the readers into a confusing, dark and disordered world, and leaves us with questions at the end. I enjoyed it a lot, and after discovering that it is the second in a series featuring Bramard I've bought the first. So although it's not without flaws I would recommend it overall, and Longo is clearly a good writer and one whose books I'll look out for in future.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.