The Killing Room

by Christobel Kent

Overview

When private investigator Sandro Cellini is invited to attend a glamorous launch party for a luxury residence overlooking the glittering expanse of Florence, he has no idea what he's walking into.Behind the ancient and luxurious facade of Palazzo San Giorgio, there lies a series of terrible secrets; an old torture chamber, hidden for centuries in the bowels of the building, and a much more recent malevolence. The former head of security for this elite development has just died under suspicious circumstances and Sandro finds himself—quite literally—stepping into dead man's shoes.He soon discovers that other unsavory incidents have tainted the prestigious opening. When one of the residents is found murdered in her room, events begin to spiral out of control. Sandro must work to untangle the complex web of relationships that exists between residents and staff to unmask a deadly killer, in this superb new Florentine mystery by Christobel Kent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605988245
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	08/15/2015
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.28(h) x 1.26(d)

About the Author

Christobel Kent's previous books include A Time of Mourning, A Party in San Niccolo, Late Season, and A Florentine Revenge. She lives near Cambridge with her husband and five children.

Editorial Reviews

06/08/2015
In British author Kent’s engaging fifth Sandro Cellini mystery (after 2013’s A Darkness Descending), the former police detective reluctantly takes a job as security consultant for Palazzo San Giorgio, a Florentine palace renovated into luxury apartments. His predecessor, Giancarlo Vito, was fired after failing to stop a series of crimes, ranging from petty theft to a pet dog’s disappearance. As Sandro begins to probe the fraught relations among the palazzo’s unsavory residents, Vito and a journalist investigating the tenants are murdered. Complex, well-drawn characters compensate for some plot weaknesses (e.g., the bumbling Sandro arrives at a solution mostly by luck). The innately decent detective’s relationship with his wife, Luisa, forms a strong counterpoint to the twisted marriages and liaisons within the palazzo, while his sometime assistant, former prostitute and drug addict Giulietta Sarto, discovers an unexpected friend from her tormented past. At its best, Kent’s understated style is powerful and evocative, even if the action verges on melodrama. Agent: Nathaniel Jacks, Inkwell Management. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Christobel
Kent’s Florentine mysteries are best read for their intimate views of the Oltrarno,
the residential district on the south side of the Arno. Lively.

Marilyn Stasio - The New York Times Book Review

A country-house mystery, with all the vices and foibles of the very rich on display. Kent is marvelous with description, both of her characters and of the vagaries of Florence. Her addition of Luisa Cellini’s wry, insightful point of view adds much to the story. The focus on the San Giorgio makes this latest Cellini very tight and tense.

Booklist

Another delectable dish of murder Florentine. With plotting worthy of Agatha Christie and color equal to that of Donna Leon—and her own fine prose style and sense of place—Kent concocts another classic mystery. Add her deftness of characterization, and The Killing Room explodes with life, death, geopolitics—and memorable literary flair.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

A
tight mystery that features solid detective work, realistic character emotions and behaviors, and a pace that is nicely measured. A wonderful series from a strong author.

Bookgasm

A country-house mystery, with all the vices and foibles of the very rich on display. Kent is marvelous with description, both of her characters and of the vagaries of Florence. Her addition of Luisa Cellini’s wry, insightful point of view adds much to the story. The focus on the San Giorgio makes this latest Cellini very tight and tense.

Booklist

Elaborate and convincing. I gobbled it up—how could one help it? Such a potent sense of place and such gripping events.

Diana Athill

08/01/2015
Sandro Cellini, a former cop-turned-PI, is hired as the head of security at a luxury residential hotel overlooking Florence. His predecessor died suspiciously, and then a resident is murdered. Can Sandro wend his way through the complex array of relationships in this centuries-old palazzo? Fifth in the series following A Darkness Descending.

Library Journal