Blog Tour! - Kill the Angel by Sandrone Dazieri - Blog Tour!

I have to confess to having missed Sandrone Dazieri’s previous work; his debut, Kill the Father, was a Richard & Judy book club choice of 2017 and there was a lot of buzz around the title. For various reasons I never got around to reading it, but after reading this, the second in his series of novels to feature Deputy Police Commissioner Colomba Caselli and her sidekick, the troubled Dante Torre, I’ll be making it my priority.

Kill the Angel begins with a seeming ISIS terror attack on a train. Cyanide gas is pumped into the first-class carriage killing all the passengers within. There’s the usual videoed claim of responsibility and it appears to be yet another in the long litany of ISIS inspired attacks to afflict the continent. Of course, Caselli and Torre don’t believe this narrative and begin to investigate.

There’s much to like about this novel, the Italian setting is extremely well done (of course, the author being Italian), not just the geography but the feel of the place. I loved the way everyone guzzled espresso at every moment! The plot twists and turns. The characters are believable and likeable: I took to both Caselli and Torre, but other characters too, like Caselli’s police underlings, the so-called Three Amigos.

What I most liked about this book however was its conspiracism. In real life I shun conspiracy theories; I’ve never bought into the ludicrous theories around 9/11, 7/7, the moon landings. Personally, I believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone shooter. Conspiracy theories are a way of consoling ourselves: we want to believe that the world is controlled by the freemasons, the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, because otherwise we have to face the frightening reality that it’s all random and shit happens. But this isn’t real life, it’s fiction and I’ve always enjoyed a good conspiracy thriller. Whether it be the classic movies of the 70’s (The Parralex View, anyone?) or the novels of James Elroy that posit that the CIA whacked Kennedy, conspiracy fiction is just so much fun! And if anywhere conspiracies did happen it’s Italy. Anyone familiar with Italian history will know of the “Years of Lead”, a period which spanned the 1960’s to 1980’s where the country was riven by both left-wing and right-wing terror. Many a historian – of the reputable variety, not the tinfoil hat brigade – has pointed to evidence that much of this was sponsored by either of the big powers, the Soviets or Americans, and that Italy really was the playground upon which conspiracies played out.

Kill the Angel is an unashamed conspiracy thriller. While it’s set in the present day, Italy’s past as a place where spies and agent provocateurs wreaked havoc gives it a certain realism which otherwise it might lack. Aside from that, it’s incredibly well-written stuff that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. So, if you like conspiracy thrillers as much as I do, this might well be the book for you.

5 out of 5 stars.