Cutting Right to the Chase - Stefania Mattana

***** Fast and... cutting

This small collection of short stories has so much originality in itself, starting from the combination of an English (former) detective living in Italy. This aspect in itself allows us to compare the personal characteristics of a typically British character in a setting which for him is somehow exotic.

A second element of originality is the choice to write short stories of just a thousand words made for a "stolen" reading in the so-called idle time, for example when travelling by bus or on the tube. This choice represents a small literary experiment that deserves praise apart from all the rest, since it is proposed to a specific target.

The third element of originality is the author, born and raised in Italy, who is wrestling with great skill in his second language, managing to convey to the reader the authority of the mother tongue both in terms of style and for the way in which she is able identify herself in the protagonist Chase Williams.

To all these elements, which would be sufficient to arouse the curiosity of the reader of this genre, you add some great stories, some real pearls, which let themselves be read in a moment, not only for the sake of brevity but also for the ability to capture your attention and force you to go on until the end. And it happens that after the first story you cannot help but move to the second one and then the third one and so on.

After this brief look into the literary world by Stefania Mattana I'd be curious to dive back into it, maybe in a good crime novel.

Cutting Right to the Chase on Amazon.com.