THE DEVIL AND THE DOLCE VITA

by Timothy Holme ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1988

Strongly reminiscent of the 1940's movie Laura, this posthumously published mystery finds Commissario Achille Peroni, the ""Rudolph Valentine of the police,"" head-over-heels bewitched by the photograph of an American singer called Khezia, who has disappeared from her beach tent on Jesolo, just across the Lagoon of Venice. Jealous of those who might have been her lovers (the pernod-drinking, Venetian rouÉ Fabrizio de Sanctis; Capt. Gigi, the flabby owner of the Dolce Vita, where she sang; Luca, the handsome seminarian) and distraught at indications that she's dead, Achille is not susceptible to the timid, tender advances of Ornella, the other Dolce Vita singer--but he is ripe for an excursion into Satanism, presided over by de Sanctis. Meanwhile, Benito Mussolini, a local photographer, and Desdemona, his monkey, have discovered a picture showing Khezia with two men--one of whom responds to his blackmail attempt with murder. Did Khezia participate in a heroin party with American soldiers from the nearby Vicenza army base, and die of an overdose? Does local priest Don Zaccaria, a sanctioned exorcist, have the right to reveal confessional secrets? Will Achille withstand the Satanists' inducements? One bona fide miracle later (the liquifying of St. Janarius blood in a Neapolitan cathedral), Achille is back on track; but, alas, that's when he's kidnapped and held for ransom by the Free Jesolo Movement, which is actually a front for--well, never mind. In confinement, Achille happens to find a letter dating back to the 40's, which ties the plot to an old Jesolo scandal, an illegitimacy and, Khezia's disappearance today. Most improbable--though the discussion of St. Janarius is riveting, the locations beguiling and, in the end, Achille opts for the flesh-and-blood Ornella over the (still missing, no longer presumed dead) Khezia. Overall: con brio, if not with (factual) conviction.

Pub Date: July 11, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION