By My Hand, Maurizio de Giovanni
By My Hand, Maurizio de Giovanni
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

By My Hand
The Christmas of Commissario Ricciardi

Author: Maurizio de Giovanni, Antony Shugaar

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 10 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/05/2016


Synopsis

Maurizio de Giovanni presents By My Hand, the fifth book in the critically acclaimed Commissario Ricciardi series.As Naples prepares for its holiday celebrations, behind the facade of order and happiness imposed by the fascist regime lurks terrible poverty and blinding desperation. In a luxurious apartment on the Mergellina beach, the bodies of a fascist militia officer and his wife have been found. The woman’s throat has been cut, while the man has been stabbed over sixty times. Seemingly, the hands of two separate killers have been at work. A statuette of St. Joseph, patron saint of workers, lies in pieces on the floor. At the scene of the crime, Ricciardi, who has the dubious gift of being able to see and hear the last seconds in the lives of those who have suffered a violent death, listens to the enigmatic last words of the couple. Accompanied by his faithful partner Brigadier Raffaele Maione—and once more troubled by two women who compete for his attentions—the commissario will have to trace a wide and frenetic arc through the streets of Naples in order to uncover the truth.

About Maurizio de Giovanni

Maurizio de Giovanni lives and works in Naples. In 2005 he won a writing competition for unpublished authors with a short story set in the 1930s about Commissario Ricciardi, which was then turned into the first novel of a series. His books have been successfully translated into French, Spanish, and German and are now available in English.

About Antony Shugaar

Antony Shugaar’s recent translations include A Pimp’s Notes by Giorgio Faletti, The Nun by Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Bandit Love by Massimo Carlotto, and Sandokan by Nanni Balestrini, for which he received an NEA translation fellowship. He lives with his family in Charlottesville, Virginia.

About Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Francyy on November 14, 2017

Le cinque stelle dovrebbero essere destinate ai capolavori, ne sono cosciente, ma questo libro di De Giovanni mi ha catturata e commossa a tal punto che non posso limitarmi a quattro stelle, come altri del Commissario Ricciardi. Non è la vicenda in sè che rende il libro interessante, ma è l'umanità......more

Goodreads review by Masteatro on January 04, 2023

No podía empezar mejor el año lector. Me ha encantado conocer al comisario Ricciardi y al resto de personajes que lo acompañan. Al autor ya lo conocía puesto que había leído un relato suyo que me había gustado sobre todo por su fina ironía y su sentido del humor, pero esto son palabras mayores. Ademá......more

Goodreads review by Dale on December 07, 2024

There are reasons why I ought not to like this novel and this series. The main character, commissario Ricciardi, is politically neutral in fascist Italy, and believes that politics is unimportant. And he has a supernatural ability (or defect): he can hear the last thoughts or words of the recently d......more

Goodreads review by Camy on January 19, 2022

"Per mano mia. Il Natale del commissario Ricciardi" è il quinto episodio della serie di Maurizio De Giovanni. I personaggi sono sempre ben descritti, sia quelli ricorrenti che i nuovi. Il lessico è semplice. Il ritmo sostenuto. Ritroviamo le descrizioni dei luoghi ma soprattutto un tuffo in quella che......more

Goodreads review by incipit on October 25, 2021

Incipit Le mani assassine si muovono nella penombra, tranquille. Non hanno memoria del sangue sparso. Per mano mia. Il Natale del commissario Ricciardi Incipitmania......more


Quotes

“The refreshing lack of cynicism of de Giovanni’s two lead detectives, Brigadier Raffaele Maione and Commissario Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi, distinguishes the quietly enjoyable fifth Commissario Ricciardi mystery set in 1930s Naples.” Publishers Weekly