The Marshal Makes His Report

Book excerpt: The eighth Marshal Guarnaccia investigation A member of one of the oldest aristocratic families in Florence is dead. When Marshal Guarnaccia arrives at the scene, in the courtyard of the crumbling Palazzo Ulderighi, he knows instinctively that something is amiss. The evidence suggests suicide, the family—including the victim’s wife, the financially troubled Marchesa Ulderighi—insists it was an accident, and the Marshal suspects something far more malevolent. While mounting an investigation against the Florentine elite means putting his very career on the line, Marshal Guarnaccia remains determined to see justice done.