Club owner Milo Marchetti smells a rat, when an exotic woman asks him to arrange a murder with an offer he cannot refuse.Soon, he’s in big trouble. Confronted by mobsters, religious zealots and police who brand him a serial killer, Milo is drawn into a dangerous love affair and her criminal family.When shocking truths about the woman surface, he must choose between a deceitful lover and enormous … lover and enormous power, or a return to his previous life as a musician.
Or is there something else in store for him?
A furiously paced thriller with memorable characters, Blood Rain in Trieste’s witty, morally pragmatic Milo Marchetti will appeal to fans of Philip Kerr’s hard detective, Bernie Gunther, Robert Wilson’s fixer, Bruce Medway, and Len Deighton’s insubordinate Harry Palmer.
Praise from readers:
“Fans of rock-hard central characters paired with deceptively vulnerable heroines in faraway places will hail this book as possibly the breakout action novel of the year.” – Don Sloan, Book Reviews and More!
“The author’s witty dialogue reminded me of those in film noir. How Milo navigates the underbelly of Trieste with its mobsters, prostitutes and high stakes will keep you enthralled to the very end.” – Diana Stevan, Amazon Review
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Milo Marchetti is the owner of a night club. He entertains the regulars by playing his guitar, while prostitutes haunt the club looking for customers. Yet, behind his friendly face, Milo is a man still trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife, who he loved dearly. But anyone looking deeper into Milo’s past would find a man who was once an assassin with more killings under his belt than he cares to remember. Though Milo is now trying to live a quiet life, he is ‘requested’ by the leader of a mob chief to look out for his daughter, Adara and feels he has little choice other to accept…
I found the story to be well told with lots of action to keep readers on the edge of their seats. However, there were times when I felt that the various descriptions of places etc. were a little over-stretched and I wanted to move on. Nevertheless, it is a most enjoyable read, especially for anyone who appreciates novels with grit and courage.
Blood Rain in Trieste: by George Henry
This was a gripping book with so many twists and turns making this an exciting read. Without giving too much away, I can say that the main character needs a plethora of adjectives to describe him. He is an ex special agent, hit-man for hire and musician who owns a club as a front for his activities. He drinks too much, he is a nasty yet occasionally comical character who loves women but his love life is a total mess. His wife and only true love was murdered and no amount of women seem to be able to take her place.
This tale of the underworld is gritty, nasty and gory with murder, prostitutes, mafia, death, danger, conspiracy, double dealing, corrupt cops, money laundering and secret allies.
With so much going on, who can Milo trust? Read the book and find out.
A few weeks ago I decided I would venture into genres of fiction usually avoided. One such genre is ‘Noir’. As I didn’t know what actually constituted ‘Noir’ I did what we all (mostly) do these days. I consulted the oracle – that’s Google (not Delphi). I found quite a lot of information but reduced my reading to the following:
Protagonist not a ‘tec (breathed sign of relief).
He/She must be a victim, suspect, perpetrator (am ok with that).
Concerned with sex, money, revenge (mmm…).
Apologies to any purists (my synonym is anoraks) if I’ve distorted the genre but it gave me a working definition. And the book I chose for this investigation is ‘’Blood Rain in Trieste’ by George Henry.
I do not propose to summarise the story. This can be done on Amazon, where it is available. I’m considering why I feel I can recommend it to other readers. This novel fulfilled the criteria above but was never treated gratuitously. It was credible as was the story which was well told with authentic descriptions of the variety of settings. There were twists and turns which maintained my interest throughout. A fast moving story, the descriptions did not impede the flow in any way but rather enhanced it. Even the esoteric allusions (especially the music ones) did not impede the pace or storyline but added to the visualisation of a character or situation.
A positive is there is no author intrusion. Mr Henry does not pontificate about the rights and wrongs of any situation but, through his characters, shows us there are always other viewpoints. One note about the protagonist. Milo is not a ‘good’ guy but I was left with the feeling he wasn’t all that ‘bad’.
One of the comments I came across in research on the ‘Noir’ genre was ‘written by men for men’. In this particular case that is certainly not true. There are some very strong women and they are very credible. If you’ve never read this genre or have been out off it for any reason do give this book a try. It is of literary merit as well as been a damn good read.
This was my first ‘noir’ book and it may not be my last…