Book Review: The Black Cats Bookshop by Piergiorgio Pulixi

The Black Cats Bookshop is an international mystery bestseller written by Piergiorgio Pulixi and translated from Italian to English by Antony Shuggar. Set in Sardinia the focus of the novel is The Black Cats Bookshop, the grumpy proprietor Marzio Montecristo and his two black cats who reside in the book shop, Poirot and Miss Marple. Marzio runs a weekly crime fiction book club which has attracted an eclectic and eccentric group of amateur sleuths who refer to themselves as the Tuesday Detectives. Each detective has their own special trope or genre of interest. Maina, a goth who has a fascination with murder, Brother Raimondo a friar from the Capuchin Order and Camilla Solinas, a widow who has been married three times, all her husbands died mysteriously in their sleep. 

When a masked serial killer appears to be killing mercilessly and frequently, DI Angela Dimase of the Calgari Mobile Police Squad asks the book club sleuths to help catch the serial killer. The bookshop detectives use the tropes they have read about and discussed in their book club meetings to see if they can be applied to real life crimes in order to catch the killer. Whilst the Black Cat Bookshop Detectives are using their skills in the real murky world of serial killers, will they be next or will the capture him in time?  

This novel manages to combine cute cat centric quips: “Miss Marple and Poirot two felines who had taken up residence in the shop and eventually taken uncontested ownership of the place” for example with some dark crimes, abuse and unrequited love. The author doesn’t waste words/ time setting the scene but jumps in with the first murder in the introductory chapter. A fabulous read but Im not sure I will reread it as although the book are beautifully paced and translated,  some chapters are hard to read due to the themes and content. 

I received this book via Netgalley and Pan MacMillan  in exchange for a honest review.  #netgalley #gifted