Author: Antonio Manzini
Pub. Date: 2-Oct-2018
My Rating: 4 Stars
Out of Season is the third book in the Rocco Schiavone mystery series by Antonio Manzini (originally published in Italian). The book reads well as a standalone. I am grateful for this since I have not read the first two books in the series. It is a fast paced and entertaining mystery/thriller set in a small town in the Italian Alps.
The story follows Deputy Chief Rocco as he tries to solve the mystery of a missing girl by the name of Chairia Berguet. She is the daughter of a local business man who owes a lot of money to the wrong people. The story opens when the kidnapper is killed in a freak car accident.
At first the reader does not know the accident and the disappearance of Chairia are connected. Then as the investigation moves along, the reader realizes that the only person who knows where she is being held is dead. When Rocco makes the connection he is desperate to find her. He will do anything to location her including bending and breaking the rules.
My favorite thing about this book is the MC, Deputy Chief Rocco. He is driven and relentless when on a case; yet, as a human being he fails miserable. He is moody, difficult, rude and arrogant and yet it worked with the story and I loved his character despite all the flaws. The author really did an outstanding job with him. I found the plot to a bit slow in the beginning but it was not enough to deter me form pushing forward. Then as the story unfolds, and the pace picks up, you are rushing to the end to see if he can find Chaira.
Even though this book is a mystery/thriller it is not heavy handed. In fact, it contained a lot of humor. Rocco is very good at handing out insults and one liners that will have you chuckling. So instead of a dark, heart pounding thriller, that are a dime a dozen these days, you get a weirdly funny thriller/mystery and I found it very refreshing.
If you are looking for a mystery/thriller that is on the lighter side, this is the one for you, make sure to put it on your TBR list! I thoroughly enjoyed and I look forward to reading more in this series. I am keeping my fingers crossed that more will be published in English.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.