John Robert Johnson's Blog
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Jan.22.2013
The Italian general elections, which take place on the 24-25th February, are shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable since Silvio Berlusconi first swept to power in 1994 on the ruins of the so-called First Republic. That one took place in the midst of the chaos brought about by the...
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Jan.15.2013
Here I am in the midst of the Italian election campaign, possibly one of the most important for the country since 1948, featuring the spectres (I use the word advisedly) or Silvio Berlusconi, back from the grave to save his skin with his usual mix of candour and self.sacrifice, and the equally...
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Jan.06.2013
It is the night of 14th December 1990, and the Jolly Rosso, a merchant vessel belonging to the Ignazio Messina freight group, runs aground in Formiciche, Calabria. The ship is carrying a cargo of nylon, tobacco and powdered drinks, and a crew of fourteen. The cause of the beaching is not...
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Nov.30.2012
Like many others, the company I work for in Italy closes for a couple of weeks in August. While I’m away, I’m in the habit of leaving my house to friends or relatives for a free holiday (they also look after the cat, but that’s a minor detail). This year it was the turn of the lovely Cuthbert and...
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Nov.27.2012
As you may be aware, Europe these days is buzzing with protests against the bizarre, self-harming austerity measures that have been imposed on assorted less-deserving countries around the Eurozone, at the hands of assorted technocrats or willing middle-managers posing as politicians. On the...
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Nov.24.2012
A few days ago we discovered that the treasurer and long-time associate of our erstwhile Prime Minister and world-famous playboy, Mr B, was held hostage last month by a group of gangsters from Puglia in Southeast Italy. The official (i.e. as approved by Mr B and his team of lawyers, currently...
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Nov.22.2012
1. Mina in Italian means “mine” (as in the explosive device). Mina is also a famous Italian chanteuse. Only one of these could be said to be apt.
2. Mina does things on impulse. She occasionally wishes that she didn’t.
3. Mina’s not infallible, she gets things wrong. Often.
4. Mina would like to...
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Nov.09.2012
1. Mina Balestra is head of the investigative team of Imola police force. Just about no one thinks that she is up to the job, Balestra included.
2. Servants of Two Masters and The Second State are set in Imola, in northern Italy. Imola is to be found between Bologna, Rimini and Ravenna. It’s best...
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Politicians and the mafia make a living from control of the same territory: so they either go to war with one another or they come to an agreement.”
—Paolo Borsellino
About John
I'm a senior editor for a major reference publisher in Italy, where I've been working since finishing a doctorate at Oxford University. I've recently self-published three novels and am busy working on the third installment of a series of contemporary crime...
John’s Favorite Books
American Psycho, The Human Stain, White Noise, Disgrace, War and Peace, Madame Bovary, What a Carve Up!, Midnight's Children, A ciascuno il suo, Carrère,...