When a body is found mutilated in a small village, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia is tasked with heading up the case. With more bodies and a kidnapped baby, Teresa is against the clock to capture the killer before an innocent life is lost.
I liked the Superintendent straightaway, a woman in her 60s struggling with her health. Even though she was good at her job, she still had to clash heads with pig-ignorant bureaucrats who thought they knew best. When Massimo, a new member was added to her team, his argumentive nature caused tension, but Teresa’s no-nonsense approach soon managed to turn him to her way of thinking. Her team respected and cared for her, as children would to their mother.
It took me a couple of pages to get used to the style of writing, but then I was hooked. From the moment the first body is found, you know Teresa is up against it. Written mainly in 3rd person, you feel as if you are reading this in real time, watching the case get solved before your eyes. As Teresa’s health begins to suffer, a diary is used to tell part of the story, making you part of a secret that Teresa does not want people to know, which in her eyes would show weakness.
Breaking up the case is the backstory of an Austrian orphanage, told from a young nurse’s perspective and as case studies and whilst at the start I was wonder how it all fits together, by the end of the book it all makes sense.
The author’s picturesque style of writing makes it easy to imagine how beautiful the scenery is. The story is well plotted and has a few surprises. Psychological profiling plays a big part in the story and although the kills were gruesome, I still felt sorry for the murderer, as there were reasons for his action. I did have a favourite kill which in my mind was the most graphic.
If you love your thrillers on the dark side then pick up this book. I hope there will be more cases for Superintendent Teresa Battaglia to solve

What a truly captivating story this is, from the aging Police Inspector Teresa Battaglia that is desperately trying to conceal her early onset of Alzheimer’s, to the backdrop story of horrendous experiments on babies and young children through the latter war years and beyond, to the present day mutilated murder victims in the idyllic Italian Alps. Are you hooked? Well you should be.
Teresa Battaglia is a cantankerous battle-axe that is feared, loved, idolised and highly respected by her team of detectives. So when a new detective to the team Marini arrives, he makes it his mission to win her over, not a task to be envied. The rest of the team amuses themselves at the attempts. Battaglia and Marini are like oil and water with their different approaches but Marini is eager to take the rap on the knuckles and learn from the best. I don’t think that I have ever come across a team quite as close as these are. It almost feels as strong as the bond of that of a mother and her grown up children who are watching out for her and her for them.
The backdrop story is heart breaking to read, with each baby in this horrific experiment, from the past, just given a number not a name. One child reacted different to all the rest, child 39, there was something very special about him. It is hard to believe that these experiments were really allowed to take place but they were.
The murders are quite gruesome, even for some of the detectives that are dealing with the case. The small Italian village is extremely tight-lipped, more interested in protecting the commercial industry than finding justice. Battaglia isn’t afraid of voicing her opinion about them. Battaglia has away of looking outside the box, in an investigation, a little out of step with the rest but enough to see situations from a different angle. Just loved her ‘won’t ask anyone to do something I won’t do’ attitude, with her roll her selves up and get on with it approach.
This is a truly fascinating story that had heart and compassion as well as gruesome and shocking. Battaglia makes a superb detective that I can’t wait to see return in future books. Loved her last line which made me really smile. Perfection!

don't even know where to begin with this book review for such a brilliant and multi-layered story.

The main protagonists is just brilliantly written and with such care - as though it is a dedication to someone the author adored.  Teresa Batagglia is a Superintendent in her 60s - an age that is such a rare occurence in detective novels and even more rare for it to be a female character of that age.  She has a wealth of experience and is well versed in the art of criminal profiling but her body and mind are slowly failing her.  Initially appearing as a harsh woman, as we move through the story we discover a tough, caring and vulnerable character who just wiggles herself into a special place in your heart kept for characters that you don't want to let go.

Set in a fairly closed community in the Italian Alps, we get the full impact of the beauty and peril of the setting.  Again, Ms Tuti describes the scenery and setting with a fierce admiration and respect for the terrain as though it is part of her and who she is.  While reading, you become immersed into the setting and almost experience the life and secrets of the community with the characters. 

A back story is drizzled throughout the main story at just the right time and pace to hook you in but not give too much away.  We learn about an institute in a remote location, where scientific research is being carried out.  In the present day we join Teresa and her colleagues in hunting down a ruthless and barbaric killer.  Both stories are told with impressive flow and such beautiful attention to detail and description that they totally suck you in.

This story is such a unique tale in so many ways and I highly recommend it to any love of crime fiction and police dramas.

Ilaria Tuti’s ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’ is her debut novel and the first in the Teresa Battaglia trilogy. Already a bestseller in Italy, it is translated by Ekin Oklap, who is known for her translations of two recent novels by Orhan Pamuk.

I am already a fan of Euro Crime so was very enthusiastic about this novel especially with its lead Superintendent Teresa Battaglia being a mature woman struggling with health issues. Inspector Massimo Marini is newly assigned to her team and inevitably rubs her the wrong way. Their interactions throughout are very entertaining.

The novel is primarily set in a remote village in the Italian Alps with some flashbacks to Austria in 1978 and onward. When a mutilated body is discovered just outside the village of Traveni, Battaglia and her team are brought in to investigate. More horrific assaults occur. After centuries of isolation the villagers are very insular, regarding tourists as a necessary evil. This makes it more difficult for the police to investigate and identify the killer.

Tuti describes the landscapes, including the woods and mountains surrounding Traveni, in very vivid terms and they feel like characters in their own right. She makes it clear in her Author’s Notes that she drew upon her passion for her homeland. I found her depiction of the Krampus Festival especially evocative.

The setting and certain themes regarding the nature of monsters brought to mind Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. There were some scenes within the woods that demonstrated that a predator can exhibit compassion.

A very unusual and memorable police procedural. I would actually also class ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’ as a work of literary fiction. I cannot recall reading anything quite like it before and certainly will be looking out for future books in this series.

My thanks to the Orion Publishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a good strong start to a series. I liked being introduced to the characters and learning their stories and I am looking forward to finding out more about them in the next book. Teresa makes this book a compelling read. She is such an interesting character.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thank you Orion for the free copy of this book, and including me in the blog tour for this one! All opinions are my own.

I ADORE a book that is unique - especially a thriller in this day and age when it feels like some storylines are just slight modifications of other storylines. Flowers Over the Inferno is EXACTLY the kind of unique read that I crave.

Set in a small remote town in northern Italy, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia finds herself trying to hunt down a possible serial killer that fits no profile she has ever seen before.

Let me count the ways I love this book: the setting. I loved the remote nature of this story, and the fact that Ilaria writes in a deeply atmospheric way that transports you to the vastness of the forest surrounding the town. The magnitude of this forest lends itself to ratcheting up the tension, chapter by chapter.

I loved the movement of the story from present day, where the killings keep happening, back to the late 70's in a nearby hospital of some sort, where it is clear that some sort of study is being conducted....but it is NOT clear on who or why. The way that a little more detail is revealed with each layer being pulled back kept upping the suspense on what that would mean for the final showdown with the killer.

Most of all - I love Teresa as a character. I ADORE that this is a police detective who is neither young, healthy or perfectly fit. I love that this is a character with a chronic disease (diabetes) that creates a baseline of her humanity from the start. I love that she is an older woman who is a strong figure in her career, but not in a way that leads to a romantic connection with any other character. I love that she is flawed and a little broken, and very much a real human person. I love that she is battling her age and life and still is able to present herself as a strong police detective and do her job to beyond her best abilities. I love that she is smart, and snarky and funny and tough. We need MORE of these female characters. SO many more.

And finally, I loved the plot. This is a serial killer mystery like no other I have read. I won't say more, because no one deserves a spoiler in a thriller, but I will say that I completely enjoyed how this rolled out and how it wrapped up. It is wonderfully done.

An absolute 100 percent recommendation to thriller and mystery lovers out there -you wont be disappointed!

In the beautiful, if somewhat remote, small village of Traveni in the Friulian mountains, a remote community is developing a skiing resort, their last hope for economic survival.

Into this enclosed village, quiet, beautiful, surrounded by pristine snow comes unimaginable horror. A corpse is found with its eyes missing; then a body minus his ears and nose, seemingly bitten off.

Chief Inspector Teresa Battaglia and her team are sent in to investigate though this insular community is not welcoming to strangers, whatever there reason for being there.

Now I want to say a word or two here about Teresa Battaglia. She is not your usual protagonist. In her sixties (like me); her body beginning to fail her (like mine); abrasive coupled with a caustic tongue – the pain and sometimes a difficult life history will do that to you – she is clearly very much appreciated by her team. For the moment though, her brain is razor sharp and her wits are very much about her. Teresa is also an excellent profiler, able to take a few clues and work them into an analysis of the criminal profile, something that is hugely helpful in this case.

She is a strong and tenacious woman who finds herself dealing with getting older; loneliness and a future that looks increasingly precarious. Battaglia is reminiscent of Ann Cleeves Vera, but with added pain.

Inspector Massimo Martini is the new arrival to Teresa’s team, but he hasn’t been warned what to expect and from the moment he arrives and let’s his somewhat sexist expectations take centre stage, it is clear that he’s going to have to get a grip if he’s to stay in this team.

Into this beautiful quiet and insular community comes violence that turns the white snow blood red. Alongside the contemporary telling of this somewhat gothic tale, we are offered snippets of events from a strange hospital in 1978, though to what end is less than clear until the denouement of the novel. The investigation will need to delve into the past in order to understand the events of the present.

Flowers Over The Inferno is a true psychological thriller. This killer differs from the norm being both brutal and violent. His actions seem impulsive, yet he is able to disappear without trace, suggesting clever planning. Battaglia puts herself in the position of understanding the monsters through her profiling and finding clues where others would not think to look. It is this empathetic approach that provides the moral compass that makes this book more than just another thriller.

This is a complex and very sad investigation, made all the more awful by the knowledge that some of it is based on fact. Tuti’s plotting works on two different temporal levels without disturbing the rhythm of the narration. Tuti very clearly demonstrates the way in which psychological violence can be even more brutal and aberrant than physical violence. Her writing is crisp and sharp, her dialogue authentic and her characters feel more natural as a result.

Flowers Over the Inferno is a well told thriller where the complexity of the characters captures the reader’s imagination. Tuti is a writer who can tell a story of horror and brutality yet evoke sympathy and emotional resonance in her readers, which is never an easy task.

I absolutely loved the setting of this book, set in a small mountain town in Austria surrounded by woodland and with the authors beautiful descriptions I felt as if I could smell the mountain air from the comfort of living room armchair.

The story has sections set back in the 1970’s in an orphanage where slowly but surely throughout the book we start to realise the horrors that happened there. The rest of the book is set in present day and follows Teresa Batagallia, a police officer who is tasked with tracking down a vicious killer who has disrupted the quiet peacefulness of the town.

Teresa is no-nonsense kind of character who you can tell has worked hard to gain the respect of her colleagues. At times she comes across as quite gruff and stand-offish but at the same time I got the sense that this wasn’t her true self and more a persona which she felt she had to give off to compensate for things that had happened in her past and the personal issues she currently has to deal with. Teresa’s character, much like the events that happened in the 1970’s, are revealed slowly throughout the book and her character grows at the same rate of the story.

For me this book was much more than just your typical ‘cop hunts series killer, cop finds serial killer - the end’, it explores the more complex reasons about why people become killers and made me start thinking about the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate. Are people born killers? Or can things that have happened to them in their childhood make them that way? In a bizarre turn of events for me, I actually found myself sympathising with the killer in the end and I think most readers of this book would actually have very differing views on that once they’ve read the plot and discovered the numerous twists and turns it takes.

I understand that this is the first in a series that will feature Teresa Batagallia and I can’t wait to read the next and find out how her character progresses.

Flowers Over The Inferno opens with an eerie scene in Austria in 1978. A mountain lake said to exhale sinister murmurs and a crumbling old building enveloped by fog is chilling enough but it's inside the orphanage where the real evil lurks, although the harrowing reality of what has been concealed there isn't revealed until much later in the book. The story then moves over the border to a remote village in the Friulian mountains in Italy in the present day. A young boy is eager to meet up with his friends but he recalls his mother's caution that the forest is no place for children when he realises someone is hiding in the dark, watching him. This ominous beginning soon becomes even darker when the body of a local man is found in disturbing circumstances. Viciously beaten and with his eyes gouged out but with traps around his body to protect it; the police are baffled, particularly when they discover the victim's clothes on a wooden effigy nearby. Readers are introduced to Superintendent Teresa Battaglia at almost the same time as Inspector Massimo Marini who has been assigned to the squad but makes a terrible first impression. He quickly learns that Teresa Battaglia is not a woman to suffer fools gladly but despite being a mercurial boss she commands fierce loyalty from her team.
Flowers Over The Inferno is the first book in a trilogy featuring Teresa Battaglia and I can't wait to read more because she is a wonderful protagonist. She is in her sixties and is becoming increasingly aware of her physical and mental limitations. She has diabetes and is a little overweight but it is her failing mind which is concerning her more. Mental deterioration is a terrifying prospect for anybody but particularly so for Teresa as she is an accomplished profiler who relies strongly on her sharp and insightful mind and excellent analytical skills. Her inner turmoil certainly adds a fascinating dimension to her character but what I found especially refreshing is that in a world where women are supposed to be likeable, she is frequently irascible, demanding and rude. There's a telling scene about halfway through the book where Marini has a conversation with two other officers who discuss how it's hard for her to be a woman in power, how she has to continually prove that she is in control and not about to collapse. She needs to be seen as a person, not as a woman and accepting help means she risks being considered weak by others. However, she inspires devotion among her colleagues and as we learn more about her past it's clear that her strength isn't limited to her shrewd tenacity and she is able to draw on her own painful history in her interactions with those who need her empathy and perceptiveness. Her most private moments reveal yet more facets to her character and it's here we see her loneliness, self-doubt and dread for what the future holds.
The case Teresa and her team are investigating is bleakly compelling as further acts of gruesome brutality inevitably follow the first murder. Teresa's compassionate nature means she feels a sense of pity for the perpetrator arguing that there is a monster lying dormant in all of us but there are those whose monsters have been fed by trauma or abuse. The question about what makes someone evil and the nature of crime and retribution is an intriguing theme which becomes even more pertinent as the story progresses. Their investigation brings them into conflict with the residents of Travenì whose residents are reliant on tourism to survive and yet have a fear of outsiders. Centuries of isolation have meant the community regards visitors with suspicion and would rather their darkest secrets are kept safe - even if it means protecting a murderer - than open themselves up to inspection and judgement from those they consider to be interlopers. The suspicious, obstructive nature of the locals is exacerbated by the sense of oppressive claustrophobia created by the vivid descriptions of the stark beauty of the mountains and the feeling that something evil is amongst them is almost overwhelming.
Flowers Over The Inferno is a beautifully written, atmospheric novel with a complex plot which thoughtfully examines why someone might become a killer. The star of the show is undoubtedly Teresa Battaglia but she is joined by a superbly rendered cast of characters, not least the children in the book. The passages set in the past complement the events in the present day perfectly and add to the feeling of uneasiness which eventually gives way to horror and indeed sadness as the truth is finally realised. This terrific debut will appeal to anybody who enjoys intelligent crime novels with a touch of the Gothic; I absolutely loved it and look forward to the next book in the series with eager anticipation.

I love beginning a new series of books, especially when a fascinating new character is introduced that I can tell from the outset I’m going to fall in love with.

This is a thrilling crime novel that takes its time to set the story up, but once it does it moves along at a cracking pace right up until the final page is turned.

A promising start to the trilogy. I can’t wait to read book 2!

My full review will be posted as part of the blog tour in February.

Set in a small village in the Italian Alps close to the Austrian border, the body of a man is found with his eye having been gouged out with bare hands. So begins a dark story of not only a series of equally gruesome murders but echoes of evil goings-on in the distant past involving babies and young children.

Into this setting enters Superintendent Teresa Battaglia with her new tag-along young male assistant. Teresa is meant to engender sympathy, I think, being near 60, somewhat overweight, diabetic and fearing the possibility of early dementia, yet brilliant by reputation and apparently much revered in the Department. However, I could not warm to her at all, finding her abrasive and unsympathetic in her dealings with both colleagues and bereaved families and bordering on cruel in her treatment of her new assistant. Such ‘flawed’ characters are now popular, of course, in modern detective novels and thrillers, but usually they have some mitigating characteristic – perhaps self-deprecating humour or at least some personal insight into themselves – that allows us to love them regardless and root for them. Unfortunately, I could not get this with Teresa Battaglia, which made the novel hard-going for me.

The flow of the story could have been better too. Yes, there was the constant going back to the past and forward to the present, a device dealt with reasonably skilfully, but there was a jarring note somehow in the writing that is hard to define – sometimes almost poetic in the literary descriptions but with odd choices of words sometimes. I couldn’t help wondering whether this was partly down to the translator rather than the author. I’m probably being a bit picky here, but I’m struggling to define what it was about the book that made it not quite work for me.

All that said, if you like a somewhat Gothic drama – almost melodramatic at times with its creepy ghosty things in the dark forest and macabre deaths – and you don’t mind not having a heroic detective figure to love, then you’ll find a cracking good story here.

Last week, I was in the throes of reading an advance copy of Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti (thanks to Netgalley and Orion!), and I knew I was onto something. It was gradually carving out that corner which exists in every reader, where pure, enthralled enjoyment is stored. It’s only now that I’ve finished it, that I’m able to look back stunned, satisfied and delighted, and not only will it easily be one of my favourite books of the year, I think it’ll come to sit comfortably amongst my favourite books of all time.

So surprising and constantly developing in ways I didn’t expect, it’s a tale delivered with a most skilled and composed touch. There is no easy way out, no cheating, in a story that, like all great works, challenges and pushes the reader to ask difficult questions of themselves while exploring a variety of themes so core and key to the very nature of the human condition, thus rendering the book relatable to us all. And it isn’t just the fact that Tuti explores these themes, moreover it’s the juggle, balance and journey through these themes that deliver us to the most satisfying of conclusions.

Descriptively, we are in heaven with Traveni and its surroundings, while the characters that inhabit the village are fully realised and drawn in absorbing detail – granting the reader complete immersion in the world Tuti has created. When I look back at all the books that have truly meant something to me, a strong sense of place is prevalent in all, and here is no exception. I could feel the cold, sense the isolation, and taste the fear.

Now looking back, I realised that I was constantly slowing myself down so I could savour it, and there is so much more that I want to say, but I know I’d give away too much. The joy in this book is in its delivery and thoughtfulness, not to mention being truly thrilling.

I have a little shelf at home for my favourite books ever, and there just might be a new title sitting alongside Benchley’s Jaws, Golding’s The Spire and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 – in fact, I’d put money on it.

Oh, what a refreshing change this book was for me. Mainly due to the fact that the main character, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, is older than the crime fighters I usually read about. She's also not in the best of health, and fears worse to come, but that does not stop her pitting her wits against the perpetrator of some rather heinous and gruesome crimes when she is called in to investigate a body found mutilated in the Italian Alps. Sorry but I couldn't help drawing a few parallels with Ann Cleeves' Vera whilst reading - another more mature female lead I love. Teaming up with Teresa is a young Inspector, Massimo Marini, who gets off on the wrong foot by misidentifying his boss for the male in her company! This turns out to be a great pairing as Teresa definitely has a wealth of knowledge and information to impart to her young associate and delivers it in a rather amusing, brusque manner. But he is game and eager to learn too and eventually they start to rub along well.
Along the way, whilst the investigation is proceeding in the present with the body count rising, we travel back to the past, to Austria in the 70s where there is something a bit hinky going on in a hospital where there are several cots containing babies, it's all a bit hush hush and the staff is sworn to secrecy. What connection this can have to the present is not found out until later...
It's hard to say much more about the plot without giving too much away but I can say that it gripped me hard, right from the start. Unlike a lot of books these days, the author does not resort to any of the cheap tricks employed to dupe readers along the way. Making this even more of a breath of fresh air.
The setting is also magnificent, as I often say in reviews it could also be considered a character in its own right so instrumental it is to what is going on around.
Characterisation is also spot on. Again it's hard to say too much for fear of spoilers but the strength of the characters really did bring the plot to life. Especially when dealing with some of the emotions that were front and centre along the way. There's a fair bit of humour interspersed throughout which redresses the balance and prevents the book from getting too dark.
All in all a good solid read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Looking for ward to meeting up with Teresa again in the next book. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Flowers Over The Inferno- Ilaria Tuti - Feb 7th- onwards Tracy netgalley crime
In the late 1970’s a convent is looking after forty, we presume, babies as we are only told about their cots. The child in cot thirty nine is different from the others, we know not why. The sisters are instructed not to breathe a word about them to anyone outside. They are looked after but not cared for. No words, no contact, the sisters faces covered. Meanwhile in present day there is a series of violent murders and police inspector and profiler Teresa Battaglia is called back for the city when the first victim is found with his face badly damaged. Each victim has been mutilated. Teresa is fighting her own battles- not least of her health- she is diabetic and also has her own secret as well as a new inspector to deal with and that in itself is yet another battle. A mix of old and new, of history (some loosely based on fact) and present day. Some slightly macabre and some humour. This is a very different crime read. One with wonderful, vivid descriptions, but not too much to make it long winded, enough that you can see the scene in full glorious colour. A woman with passion for her job and a tenacity to rival many, with foresight and determination to keep her team in check. An interesting read, a memorable read. One to keep an eye out for.
For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
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Amazon Top 1000 reviewer.
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

I'd like to begin with the main character Teresa Battaglia who is the police officer and profiler on the gruesome murders. She is one of the strongest, bad ass leads of a novel that I have read in quite some time. Although her health isn't as great and has succumbed to the effects of aging; she is in her sixties after all, she radiates strength and independence. In the writers own words:
"At an age when women are so often pushed aside, Teresa refuses to surrender"

You can feel that, you can feel the passion that her character has to right the wrongs of the world, this is very much to do with the dark past that she has experienced. I, as a reader and as a women identified with the foundation of Teresa's character that is ultimately the strength of women, also the wit that woman has will be the warmth through the chill of this read. I loved her from the start.

The dynamic of the characters interaction, mainly Battaglia and Marini seems so free-flowing, it feels like they fall into a slightly strict maternal / son relationship, especially in the way that they both seem to be able to learn from one another. They make a very great crime fighting duo!

This read left me feeling very goosepimply and quite truthfully creeped out due to the pretence of the character's feeling like they are being watched. Also the inclusion of the murder detail that eyes have been gouged out *shivers*.This was the way that I felt throughout a majority of the book; freaked out.

I thought that Ilaria produced a really great storyline that grabbed your attention and kept you engrossed, like a fish on a hook. The descriptions are really vivid, especially that the author has used authentic details concerning the forensic psychological profile development. I like to feel that I learn something from each read, this time it was the difference between organised and disorganised murderers. Although the concept of the book is chilling, it still contained beautiful setting description, such as:
"There was a primitive beauty about that landscape, the kind that made you lose your bearings. Snow capped peaks towered over a millennial forest soaring like dull blades over a thick woodland carpet"

You could almost feel the cold of the snow and imagine the scenery that this tale of murder was set in. Very contrasting don't you think? Dark red blood on fresh white snow.

I am a self - proclaimed thriller addict, I have to remind myself sometimes to break it up a little and read something different. Flowers Over The Inferno is one of those thrillers that us reading junkies just love turning the pages to, it may as well have been glued to my hands because I couldn't put it down. I read it in two days with such intrigue.

I would recommend this read to everyone and anyone who enjoys a thrilling procedural read, with a few heart wrenching moments scattered throughout, where you may feel such empathy towards the characters. I also enjoyed that the storyline was written from various voices as it offered a wider view that just Teresa's which for me gives a storyline layering, as well as depth.

This is an interesting crime novel, set in a small village, near the Italian Alps. This is the first in a trilogy which will feature Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, an older, female character (hurrah!) who has a problem with her weight, suffers from diabetes and, especially, does not suffer fools gladly… Indeed, when new recruit, Massimo Marini, arrives at the crime scene and mistakes the Superintendent for a man, you get the feeling he is going to have a very bad time indeed.

Much of what makes this book interesting are the characters – especially Battaglia herself, and the way Marini begins to discover that his new boss has much to teach him. The opening of the novel has the discovery of a body and the team have to try to uncover who was responsible for such a brutal killing. The isolated setting gives a lot of atmosphere and there are flashbacks, throughout the story, which explain how events of the past have triggered crimes in the present.

It is hard to review this book without giving spoilers and I have no wish to do that. However, the author has tried to avoid many of the obvious plot twists, and characters, of many modern crime books. For example, the victim is male, rather than female, while the investigator is older and struggling with health issues. This is thoughtful, brooding, character driven and well written. I look forward to meeting Teresa Battaglia again. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Wow! I'm a big fan of thrillers and I loved reading Flowers Over the Inferno.

This story starts off with Detective Superintendent Teresa Battaglia investigating the death of a mutilated naked man. She is soon joined by a young inspector Massimo but they get off on the wrong foot. During the investigation, Teresa discovers two other bodies-one of them dead. If the dead bodies and one woman in a coma aren't enough, a new-born baby is kidnapped.

In the quest of finding the killer, Teresa will have to battle not only her body but her mind ...and will she like when she finally discovers his/her identity?

I highly recommend this thriller set in Austria not only because of the setting but because of characters such as Teresa and Massimo. You won't be able to put down this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC!

This book was really a page turner, I couldn't put it down.
I liked the writing, although it was a bit difficult to get into the story at first. But, what I liked the most was the old, female police, Teresa Battaglia. She was such a character in her mid sixties. I thought it was very original to have a lead like that. I also enjoyed inspector Massimo and their relationship.

The story was wrapped up very nicely and I thought it was quite emotional.

Overall, a solid crime book. If you're looking for a change of setting, I'd recommend this European novel. I'd read from Tuti again as I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in a few hours,so it was clearly engaging enough. I felt like I struggled with the first third though . To place who was who. Why and what even.
Just as I was getting it,in they threw a throwback section.
Finally got my head around it,and it was an interesting story.... a mad scientist and his experiment,and exactly what can go wrong with them.
The killer never really became a person for me...I can't picture him at all.
It was a good story,and just a bit different to the norm. Which is always good

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Flowers over the Inferno, the first novel to feature Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, set in the remote northeastern mountains of Italy.

When a body is discovered in the mountains outside the village of Traveni Superintendent Teresa Battaglia and her team are called in to investigate because the ritualistic aspects suggest something more complicated than a one off killing.

I thoroughly enjoyed Flowers over the Inferno which offers much more than a straightforward procedural does and yet, is still a satisfying procedural. The point of view covers many voices, an approach I often find distracting annoying, but in this case it is a bonus, offering the reader a wider perspective than Teresa’s voice alone could do. The plot is compulsive and had me turning the pages feverishly to find out what was coming next, not only the killer’s identity and actions but Teresa’s thinking and her relationship with new recruit Inspector Massimo Marini. It is inventive, unusual and based on an interesting premise which some may find difficult to swallow although I had no trouble finding it mostly plausible. I should also say that it is exciting in parts and had me hooked.

As I said the novel is much more than just the hunt for a budding serial killer. The setting itself becomes a character in its own right from the wonderful descriptions of the geography to the closed, insular nature of the villagers who are unwilling to reveal their secrets in a desperate attempt to protect their image of paradise. The real star of the show, however, is Superintendent Teresa Battaglia. She is a tough, uncompromising investigator but, as a profiler, she has a profound understanding of human nature and often tempers her toughness with unexpected kindnesses, not however, in her dealings with the latest addition to her team, city boy transplant Massimo Marini. He gets the tough love treatment which would chasten a lesser man and it’s often highly amusing but it makes him stronger and the two of them become a highly effective team by the end of the novel, making me look forward enthusiastically to their next outing. So far, so stereotypical of strong female protagonists but Ms Tuti then confounds the reader by making Teresa older and not in the best of health. She is in her sixties and suffering from diabetes and yet she battles on with a grit and determination that would put younger people to shame. She’s a compelling character.

Flowers over the Inferno is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.