Product Description

An exquisitely plotted and unique psychological thriller. The author narrates through the eyes of the protagonists, placing the reader right in the action. You will only be needing the very edge of your seat on which to read this fast-paced thriller. A serial killer is terrorising the students of Bologna. Rookie female detective Grazia Negro is determined to solve the case. Only one witness can positively identify the killer...and he's blind. Simone spends his days in solitude, listening to Elvis Costello's Almost Blue and scanning the radio waves of the city to eavesdrop on other people's lives. He likes to imagine what people are like - based on the tone and 'colour' of their voice - and his acute hearing sets alarm bells ringing upon hearing the voice of the killer. The perspective alternates between the vulnerable and reclusive Simone and the dark and psychotic killer, obsessed with continually 'reincarnating' himself as his latest victim in a frantic bid to escape the torture of his inner demons. Lucarelli paints his villain in a brilliant and yet terrifying light and you will have to stop yourself from screaming out to Grazia and Simone to warn them of the looming danger.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #576871 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-21
• Original language: Italian
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Guardian
'A compact and powerful masterpiece'

From the Publisher
SHORTLISTED FOR CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD

About the Author
CARLO LUCARELLI was born in 1960 in Modena, Italy. One of the most exciting young writers in Europe, he has written eleven novels, all of them noirs. Lucarelli hosts a popular television series in Italy that examines unsettling and unsolved crimes and the urban centres in which they occur. He also teaches writing in Turin, sings in a post-punk band, and edits an on-line magazine, Incubatoio 16.

Customer Reviews

Almost gripping
I don't know whether it was my expectation of the book or the book itself that left me unsatisfied. It felt like an overlong short story rather than a novel, with characters under-developed and two dimensional. At the same time, I found myself wanting to know more about them. The mix of different narrators was irritating rather helpful, but I don't see how the story could have worked without using the device. Although I wouldn't rush to buy another one by this author, I would be interested in borrowing one to see if the detective (this is apparently a series featuring the same woman) 'grows' both on me and in terms of depth of character.

Almost Blue, Carlo Lucarelli
I was surprised to find this on the CWA Gold Dagger shortlist last year, as I'd never previously heard of Lucarelli. He's an author with many strings to his bow: Not only does he write very sucessful Italian noir crime novels, but he hosts a late-night TV show that focuses on unsolved crimes (think an Italian Nick Ross, if that's not too weird), edits an online magazine, teaches writing in Turin, and sings in a punk rock band.

As I say, I was surprised, but having read it now, I'm not at all, because this is an absolutely excellent crime novel. Let me start by saying, I love short books, and this is definitely one of them, at only about 170 pages. Short books can be read quickly, and can provide the same payoff as reading a novel, if done absolutely right. And this one is. Novels like this that condense plots that other authors would use hundreds of pages for into a mere 170, show just how much superfluity is packed into many novels. Because Almost Blue is none less rewarding, and is practically stuffed with plot. The result is a quick, immediately engaging read. As The Guardian blurb on the cover says, this is a "compact and powerful masterpiece".

It's darn original, too. Set in Bologna, it's a dark dark serial killer story. On the trail is Inspectore Grazia Negro, who's an officer in a new task-force that's just been set-up, and is rather just finding its feet and its confidence. Simone is blind, and lives in a room at the top of his mother's house. All day, he listens to his record player in between bouts of tuning into a radio scanner that picks up the voices of people all across the city. This is hobby. Listening to Bologna's inhabitants, imagining them as they go about their lives and, frequently, their illicit loves. One day, though, Simone is terrified when he tunes into the killer.

As I say, it's a completely original book. (Oonagh Stransky's excellent, fluent translation shouldn't go without a mention, either. Nor should Lucarelli's absolutely remarkable descriptions of sound, which Simone is of course so attuned to.) Almost Blue is an excellent English-language debut from a talented crime writer. Short, sharp, and very thrilling. I look forward to more. Definitely.

Almost Blue, Carlo Lucarelli
I was surprised to find this on the CWA Gold Dagger shortlist last year, having never previously heard of Lucarelli. He's an author with many strings to his bow: Not only does he write very sucessful Italian noir crime novels, but he hosts a late-night TV show that focuses on unsolved crimes (think an Italian Nick Ross, if that's not too weird), edits an online magazine, teaches writing in Turin, and sings in a punk rock band.

As I say, I was surprised, but having read it now, I'm not at all, because this is an absolutely excellent crime novel. Let me start by saying, I love short books, and this is definitely one of them, at only about 170 pages. Short books can be read quickly, and can provide the same payoff as reading a novel, if done absolutely right. And this one is. Novels like this that condense plots that other authors would use hundreds of pages for into a mere 170, show just how much superfluity is packed into many novels. Because Almost Blue is none less rewarding, and is practically stuffed with plot. The result is a quick, immediately engaging read. As The Guardian blurb on the cover says, this is a "compact and powerful masterpiece".

It's darn original, too. Set in Bologna, it's a dark serial killer story. On the trail is Inspectore Grazia Negro, who's an officer in a new task-force that's just been set-up, and is rather just finding its feet and its confidence. Simone is blind, and lives in a room at the top of his mother's house. All day, he listens to his record player in between bouts of tuning into a radio scanner that picks up the voices of people all across the city. This is hobby. Listening to Bologna's inhabitants, imagining them as they go about their lives and, frequently, their illicit loves. One day, though, Simone is terrified when he tunes into the killer.

As I say, it's a completely original book. (Oonagh Stransky's excellent, fluent translation shouldn't go without a mention, either. Nor should Lucarelli's absolutely remarkable descriptions of sound, which Simone is of course so attuned to.) Almost Blue is an excellent English-language debut from a talented crime writer. Short, sharp, and very thrilling. I look forward to more. Definitely.