The Killing Room: A Mystery in Florence

In British author Kent’s engaging fifth Sandro Cellini mystery (after 2013’s A Darkness Descending), the former police detective reluctantly takes a job as security consultant for Palazzo San Giorgio, a Florentine palace renovated into luxury apartments. His predecessor, Giancarlo Vito, was fired after failing to stop a series of crimes, ranging from petty theft to a pet dog’s disappearance. As Sandro begins to probe the fraught relations among the palazzo’s unsavory residents, Vito and a journalist investigating the tenants are murdered. Complex, well-drawn characters compensate for some plot weaknesses (e.g., the bumbling Sandro arrives at a solution mostly by luck). The innately decent detective’s relationship with his wife, Luisa, forms a strong counterpoint to the twisted marriages and liaisons within the palazzo, while his sometime assistant, former prostitute and drug addict Giulietta Sarto, discovers an unexpected friend from her tormented past. At its best, Kent’s understated style is powerful and evocative, even if the action verges on melodrama. Agent: Nathaniel Jacks, Inkwell Management. (Aug.)