The Second Life of Inspector Canessa

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy of this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Set in the nervy aftermath of Italy’s Years of Lead - a truly noir period of history - it charts the efforts of the spectacularly named retired carabinieri, Annibale, to unravel the murky assassination of his estranged brother, Napoleone! Annibale has lost some battles in the past but he wins this war. I found him a more thoughtful man than his Rambo reputation would have suggested, if rather predictably predatory. The brothers were on opposing sides during the Years of Lead. The older characters in this book are some of its joys. I particularly enjoyed the unshakeability of Annibale’s aunt and the elderly neighbour of his brother, but the father who relives historical battles in miniature and names his sons after such illustrious vanquished generals entertained me as well. The writing is good. We join the characters in the middle of what they are doing and thinking in a cinematic way which draws you into the story. Of course this is noir, so the younger women are always beautiful and prone to nymphomaniac exhibitionism, which is a bit of a stretch in the upper middle class circles in which they live, but the villains are by no means one dimensional. I even felt a little sorry at the demise of Panattoni if not at the fate of Rocco, the psychopathic hired killer with a Coca Cola habit.

Altogether, this is a romp of a read, and I shall look out for more in this series. Recommended!

My first taste of Italian Crime fiction certainly won’t be the last! Roberto Perrone’s The Second Life of Inspector Canessa, ably translated by Hamish Goslow, is a highly entertaining crime-action thriller set in the early third millennium with strong connections to the turbulent 1970s.

Annibale Canessa—termed as a cross between Rambo and Terminator by an admirer—is a national hero who played a stellar role in ending the terrorism during the political turmoil of the seventies, known as Years of Lead. Disillusioned by the state of affairs just after the end of his war on terror, he has retired from service while still in his thirties and, after almost thirty years, is spending his time in a popular tourist spot helping his aunt run a restaurant. His idyll is rudely interrupted when his estranged younger brother is brutally murdered in Milan alongside a ruthless killer—an ex-terrorist—from the past whose capture was a high point in Canessa’s anti-terrorism career. Canessa has to come out of his retirement and track down his innocent brother’s killers, and unearth the connection between his brother and his companion-in-death. The enemies he faces now are far different from the ones he had faced during his fighting days—they are people with power, ready to kill anyone just to keep the secrets buried. Canessa isn’t without his share of supporters; his assistant from the old days, people who owe him favours, and a number of admirers in awe of his past heroics help him along in his fight.

The narrative switches back and forth in time and is gripping in the way the mystery unfolds bit by bit. Canessa, in spite of his age, gets to seduce women half his age. And he is not the only one having fun; several other characters, equal to or older than Canessa in age enjoy the carnal pleasures—mostly with far younger partners—a lot! Perrone’s characters come in all shades of grey, and it is fascinating to watch them in action. The descriptions of places, persons and the violent action are vivid. Perrone paints an authentic picture of Milan in its various garbs, though I don’t know enough to comment. Being uneducated about the Italian politics and its recent history, and without any idea about the various law enforcement agencies of Italy, I had some trouble in grasping the plot initially and had to reread several portions. But, once the action got up and running, the reading became easier and the pages started to fly.

To sum up, The Second Life of Inspector Canessa is a perfect blend of action, mystery, sex (a bit more than necessary, in my opinion) and good old crime that is sure to entertain fans of crime fiction irrespective of their nationality. Pushkin Press and Walter Presents have done an immense service to the reading community by making this exciting fiction available to readers worldwide, and I thank netgalley.com for the opportunity to read this ARC and review it!

Annibale Canessa, fifty-three years old, was living the good life in San Fruttuso, near the Ligurian Riviera. The beautiful small village was only accessible by boat or on foot. Annibale and his aunt owned and ran one of San Fruttuso's three restaurants. He had an old wound on his left side, a reminder of his former life as Lt. Colonel Canessa of the Carabinieri. He kept a "safe haven" to live in outside Rapallo, part of the "Canessa Network" of old friends, or people who owed him their life or that of someone they loved. People owed him favors...he was a problem fixer.

Ivan Repetto, retired First Marshall of the Carabinieri, had been Canessa's partner for seven years. He had shadowed him everywhere, was his right hand man and his conscience. The lives of two former Carabinieri, now living simply, would be uprooted. Men would shadow them, they in turn, would stalk and follow others, revisiting the turmoil of the 1970's known as Years of Lead.

Pino Petri was a paroled, ex-killer. He studied faces as a survival mechanism. He yearned for anonymity. "He would start living again once he sorted out this one last thing". Pino requested a visit from his old friend, Napoleone Canessa, someone he hadn't seen in thirty years. Napoleone wondered why Pino was seeking him out. He would never find out. Pino Petri, one of Italy's most famous terrorists, was gunned down while Napoleone was fatally injured in an attempt to shield him from the shooters.

Brothers Annibale and Napoleone were estranged. While Annibale had become a policeman, Napoleone sided with the rebellion and the radical left. "Napoleone, I see everything you do as a form of rebellion...I want to stop chasing after you, rescuing you, protecting you. From today onwards, to each his own". That was then. This is now. Why did Petri call Napoleone after thirty years and request a meeting in Milan? Did his brother have any enemies?

"Anyone who kills so brutally has some horrendous thing to hide from their past-and something big to defend here, now: money, power, reputation". Someone was waiting and watching for them. They knew that Petri had called my brother-worried he'd say something...". Annibale Canessa "was born suspicious- it was in his DNA-...on high-alert, trusting no one". Now as Lt. Colonel Canessa he had to again don his soldier's uniform. He asked First Marshall Repetto to "help from the back benches with the logistics".

"The Second Life of Inspector Canessa" by Roberto Perrone is a riveting, gritty Italian crime thriller. There is murder, intimidation, extortion, sassy ladies and revenge. Fans of noir fiction will be captivated!
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Thank you Pushkin Press/Walter Presents and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Second Life of Inspector Canessa” by Roberto Perrone is a cool, stylish thriller set in modern Italy but also during the particularly violent period of Italian history near the end of the infamous Years of Lead, which saw the Carabinieri and the judicial system virtually at war with the various left-wing factions of the Red Brigade.

The principle character is Inspector Canessa who successfully captured and secured convictions of a number of key criminal figures in the 1980’s and returns to Milan following the assassination of his long estranged brother. Before long, Canessa finds himself and his partner Repetto with the help of an old friend Rossi re-examining convictions from 30 years prior to figure out the real reason why his brother was murdered along with the notorious criminal / activist, Pino Petri.

Canessa manages to upset some people in high places who in turn make his job so much more difficult. A number of young beautiful women are all too willing to offer their assistance (and quite a lot more!!) to the still-handsome Canessa as tries to make sense of the pieces of the puzzle he has discovered.

The author has created a tricky, intricate mystery that is perfectly pieced together and satisfyingly rewarding!

It’s been decades since Annibale Canessa and his brother Napoleone have last talked. Now, the later has been killed, together with Giuseppe Petri, former member of the Camorra and serial killer. Annibale quit his job as Carabiniere after his biggest success because it was obvious to him that he could only get one fish at the time, but police as well as jurisdiction were full of people collaborating with the mafia and far from providing justice. But now, he has to act since it is obvious that the murder of his brother will not be cleared up by official institutions. Together with his former colleagues, Canessa goes on a mission which is bloody and which will stir up dirt. A lot of things have changed since the 70s and 80s when Italy was in the hands of the criminal organisations, but unluckily not all.

Roberto Perrone is an Italian journalist and writer who amongst other wrote the biography pf Gianluigi Buffin, the famous goalkeeper. “The Second Life of Inspector Canessa” is the first instalment of the Annibale Canessa series which strongly reminded me of the “Mani Pulite” investigations of the 1990s when masses of crimes of industry leaders and politicians were exposed and the corrupt system uncovered resulting in the end of the Prima Repubblica.

Annibale has to start his investigation from scratch, neither has he an idea why his brother was killed or why he was together with the former camorrista nor does he dispose of any means to investigate. He only has his sharp mind, two loyal former colleagues and Carla, a journalist not only eager to collaborate but also attractive. They uncover several leads which do not add up, more people die and also the small group is attacked. Quite obviously, nobody wants them to dig deeper, not the police, not the jurisdiction, not the mafia. But Annibale has not only lost his brother, he has strong conviction which he follows.

A complex and suspenseful thriller which is totally entertaining but also disillusioning – it does not take much to imagine that all this could be true.

Over the past several years, I have made an effort to expand my horizons beyond the traditional boundaries of English and American mysteries/thrillers/espionage/noir stories. And Italy has turned out to be a rich source of excellent novels – the Italian authors seem to understand that not everything is black and white, that there are many shades of gray in this world. Between the rise of fascism in the 1930s, the anti-government terrorists of the 1970s, and even the organized crime throughout, there’s plenty of material out there as background for great storytelling.

“The Second Life of Inspector Canessa” by Roberto Perrone mines this territory to great effect. What a fantastic book. It starts out with many snapshots of different people – a bit confusing, but necessary for what follows. And what follows is a double murder – an old terrorist (whom Canessa captured many years ago) out on parole, along with another questionable character, who happens to be the estranged brother of the titular Inspector Canessa, now retired and running a restaurant with his aunt.

But one must avenge family, and Canessa starts out to try to solve who and why his brother was killed. And his underlying fear - was his brother simply a means to get to Canessa? This time he no longer has the power of the state behind him, just his trusty sidekick and those who owe him favors. Along for the ride is the required love interest, a journalist looking to break the big story.

Mr. Perrone does a great job delving into 1970s history when necessary, for a lot of the current action has deep roots in the past. He manages to keep the stories easy enough to follow while providing a rich tapestry that all weaves together. And that’s what really sets this novel apart – the characters, and all of their wonderful shades of gray. The backstories, the decisions, the attempts to do the right thing – no one is all good or all bad, you can understand the various viewpoints.

Being Italian, the sex scenes are a bit naughtier than usual, along with the violence being a bit more graphic. And the politics can get a bit confusing, although the author does a good job explaining what was going on. Overall an exciting, interesting, dynamic book. I look forward to hopefully many more adventures with ex-Inspector Canessa.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Pushkin Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It has something for everyone; violence, history lesson, political maneuvering, corruption, murder, lots of guns, sex and violence ( yes I know I already said that but it bears repeating). All the women are beautiful and fully in control of their sexual escapades, even those secondary players who were involved with the powerful men in the story. And there were a lot of powerful men - I had a little trouble in the beginning keeping track of all the names, titles, rank and where they fit into the big picture. The writing is excellent and story moves along rapidly. This book was translated from Italian and I appreciated that the translator did not leave behind lots of Italian words without definitions. The story skipped back and forth between time periods which required a little backtracking to figure out what was happening in the present versus in the past. Even towards the end of the book when everything was coming together I still had to stop and re-read a few pages to understand who did what to whom that led up to the murders that Canessa was investigating. But overall a great book with lots of intrigue - and sex and violence; I received an advanced copy of this book through Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Superb thriller featuring the return of Inspector Canessa back to his role as a detective after a protracted break.

The plotting is expert, the background impeccably authentic and the characters vividly realised. It was a story told in detail but with great scope and so realistic you can smell the espresso.

Motto bene!!

This is a mystery with a difference. Everything about it is a bit set apart from the norm - from the incredibly vivid Italian setting to the way in which the author switches the various timeframes as the plot progresses. I loved that it is set in Italy and really loved getting to know the characters, who are so well developed as to seem real.