The Day of the Dead: The Autumn of Commissario Ricciardi
About this audiobook
In this fourth installment of the internationally successful Commissario Ricciardi series, the commissario investigates the death of Matteo, one of the many street urchins who live hand-to-mouth in the dark alleys of 1930s Naples. While at first the death seems provoked by natural causes, there's more to the tragedy than meets the eye.
Commissario Ricciardi is the undisputed wizard of Neapolitan crime scenes. He solves every crime with an uncanny swiftness that leaves his colleagues dumbfounded. Indeed, there are those who think his abilities are the work of the devil, an unnatural and ungodly gift to be exorcised. And maybe they're right. Ricciardi sees the dead; he sees and hears the final moments in the lives of those who have suffered violent deaths. It may be a talent, or it may be a curse, but it is nonetheless a kind of black magic. Sometimes, however, even black magic isn't enough. It's a rainy autumn in Naples and the fog lays thick over the city as its inhabitants celebrate the week of the dead. Ricciardi's instincts tell him that the dead boy is the victim of a murder, but investigating the homicide is not going to be easy. The authorities want to avoid any trouble, any sign that things are not as they ought to be in Naples, for they are preparing for the state visit of Benito Mussolini. Ricciardi will have to conduct his investigation hidden from the eyes of his superiors. What's worse, his sixth sense is no help to him this time: the scene of the crime is silent, still, not a word or a sign, or even a scream from the dead. Has his unwelcome gift finally faded? Or is something more sinister at work?
About the author
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 In 2005 he won a writing competition for unpublished authors with a short story set in the 1930s about Commissario Ricciardi, which was then turned into the first novel of a series.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.
Federico Moccia is one of Italy's publishing phenomenons, and his emotional stories have been compared to the works of Nicholas Sparks and John Green. The first two Babi and Step books were blockbuster bestsellers in Italy, spending three full consecutive years on the Nielsen bestseller list. His books have been published in fifteen languages worldwide and have sold over ten million copies, and there are feature films in Italian and Spanish based on the first two books in the trilogy. Learn more at:FedericoMoccia.esTwitter @FedericoMocciaFacebook.com/FedericoMocciaOfficial Antony Shugaar is a translator and writer who lived for many years in Italy, France, and Spain. He has received two translation fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has translated close to forty books for Europa Editions and has worked for many of the most prestigious publishers, trade and academic, in the US and the UK. He has translated extensively for the New York Review of Books and has written for the New York Times, the Times of London, and many other publications.
Grover Gardner ’s narration career spans 25 years and over 550 audiobook titles. AudioFile magazine has called him one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and features him in their annual “Golden Voices” update. Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2005. His recordings have garnered 18 Earphones Awards from AudioFile and an Audie Award from the Audio Publishers’ Association.
