Marilyn's Mystery Reads

A new term for me is “baby gangs,” referring to groups of young teenagers who are running wild on the streets of Venice.  They arrange violent clashes with each other, getting the word out via social media, trying to prove which group is the toughest and strongest while at the same time vandalizing and destroying property.

When two groups decide to meet at the Piazzetta del Leoncini, they have the bad luck to congregate just when the police squads are changing shifts.  That means that for a few minutes there is double the number of police at the site than would ordinarily be there, so it was relatively easy for the officers to round up the baby gang members and bring them to the police station.

After several hours almost all the boys are picked up by their parents, none of whom is happy to be pulled from their homes in the middle of the night.  Orlando, one of the younger boys, tells Commissario Claudia Griffoni that he lives only with his father and that his father’s cell phone is turned off every night at eleven.  Reluctant to leave him overnight at the station, Griffoni decides to accompany him to his home, a decision that will have far-reaching consequences.

At the same time, Commissario Guido Brunetti learns about a pattern of violence and intimidation against his colleague and friend Bocchese, chief technician of the police station’s lab.  Brunetti is shocked when he enters Bocchese’s office; the latter is pale and drawn and obviously on edge about something.  He finally admits to Guido that he’s being harassed by the teenaged son of the family who lives in his building.  He says that this boy trips him on the stairs, hits his parents, and has made threatening remarks about Bocchese’s pride and joy, his collection of antique statues.

Bocchese has collected numerous statues over the years, some quite valuable, and he believes that the teenager has been going into his apartment and moving his statues around, apparently not worrying about Bocchese’s reaction.

The technician tells Brunetti that he’s decided to sell most of his collection, possibly because of his fear of his young neighbor, and would like the commissario’s opinion about which ones to keep.  When Brunetti goes to his apartment that night to look at the statues, he sees his friend with a bloody nose and blood on his jacket.  “The bastard tripped me,” Bocchese says, but he says there’s really nothing to be done about it.

A somber thread runs through A Refiner’s Fire with the author’s comments about the state of life in Venice.  Corruption is rife, there is venality everywhere, and the criminal court system is a joke.  It is no wonder that gang members are getting younger, as apparently under Italian law and actual practice there is nothing that can be done to anyone under 18. It’s a dispiriting scenario, one that has gotten more troubling with each of Ms. Leon’s novels.

Not surprisingly, per the author’s request, the novels in this series are not translated into Italian, although they are available in many other languages.

A Refiner’s Fire is a worthy addition to the Guido Brunetti series, bringing readers once again into the warmth and closeness of the protagonist’s family and contrasting that with the violence surrounding them.

You can read more about the author at this website.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.

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