Sign of the Cross
‘Sign of the Cross’ Reviews
SIGN OF THE CROSS is number two in Thomas Mogford’s series about lawyer Spike Sanguinetti. A third, HOLLOW MOUNTAIN, is also out now.
At CrimeFest 2014 Mogford said that the small size of Spike’s home Gibraltar meant that his adventures had to take him further afield, and in this case he is called out to the other end of the Mediterranean. His Maltese uncle and aunt have died – in a murder-suicide, according to the local authorities. Spike is needed to sort out their affairs.
Malta is vividly realised without the book becoming a tourist guide. Historic and well-preserved in some places, run-down and seedy in others, and above all a tiny community; Spike sees both sides of the island. Its small size is part of the Malta’s greatest problem. It has become notorious as a crossing place between Europe and Africa, and acts as a way-station for thousands of refugees on their way north. After a period in detention they are moved to run-down tent camps elsewhere on the island. They are a massive strain on the resources of a tiny economy and hence unpopular with many of the locals. Equally the refugees make easy pickings for predators.
Spike’s love interest from SHADOW OF THE ROCK, Zahra, is now working as an Arabic-to-English translator for a refugee charity. Through her Spike gets to see conditions in the camps at first-hand.
Meanwhile, he looks into the deaths of his uncle and aunt. David Mifsud, an art historian, had been acting very strangely before his death and there is scant evidence for suicide. It soon looks to Spike as though his uncle’s murder is connected to a deeper mystery. This side of the story brings in the Knights of Saint John, the order of knights which has run Malta since medieval times, and who are represented in the book by the baron who was David Mifsud’s landlord.
With all the ancient chivalric orders and hidden secrets I was slightly worried we were getting into ‘Da Vinci Code’ territory, but this is ultimately a down-to-earth thriller. Spike is a realistic sort of hero. His home life is complicated by caring for an increasingly frail father and the early loss of an alcoholic mother. He’s a bit of a fool when it comes to managing his love life, which makes trouble for those around him. But he is loyal to his friends and tries to do right by them, even if it drags him into danger.
Overall, a taut thriller with a strong sense of place and a conscience: Mogford isn’t afraid to confront the conditions in the refugee camps.
Health warning: there is a graphic scene of murder in chapter one which may offend some readers. You can safely skip it. Rich Westwood
MORNING STAR, 16 MAY 2013
Gibraltarian lawyer Spike Sanguinetti is summoned to Malta in Thomas Mogford’s Sign Of The Cross (Bloomsbury, £12.99) to arrange the funerals of two relatives who have died in horribly violent circumstances. But the idea that his aunt was murdered by her beloved husband, who then committed suicide, seems absurd to Sanguinetti. His attempts to find another explanation lead him into various dangerous worlds, including art fraud, people smuggling and Malta’s archaic and deeply conservative secret societies. Mogford packs a great deal into a relatively slim novel but it’s the unfamiliar Mediterranean setting, fascinatingly presented, that will linger in readers’ memories. Matt Coward
YORKSHIRE POST, 26 APRIL 2013
Sign of the Cross
Thomas Mogford (Bloomsbury, £12.99)
Spike Sanguinetti swaps the Gibraltar courtroom for a fast-paced thriller as he bids to prove his art-mad uncle did not kill his wife and then commit suicide.
Sanguinetti, hardly cast in the all-action mould as he trades in his legal brief for the instincts of an amateur detective, struggles to unravel the mystery unfolding on the island of Malta.
Centuries of sieges have turned the former British colony into a land populated by a mix of Europeans and Africans trying to find their own personal salvation.
Thomas Mogford’s second Sanguinetti thriller continues the excellent work of this London-based journalist and writer. As the hero peels back the layers of Malta’s melting pot of a society, he delves further into the complicated world of the Knights of St John, which will leave the reader eagerly anticipating the next instalment.
Expect there to be many more adventures for the lawyer who has an aptitude for sleuthing. Roddy Brooks
MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE, SPRING ISSUE, 2013
Sign of the Cross
by Thomas Mogford
Bloomsbury, May 2013, $25.00
Gibraltar-based lawyer Spike Sanguinetti travels back to his homeland of Malta for the funeral of his uncle and aunt, David and Theresa. The two were involved in an ugly domestic dispute that escalated to a ghastly murder and suicide—or so the police believe. Spike isn’t so sure and starts his own investigation. The couple did not have a history of violence. Would an art historian just snap and brutally cut his wife’s throat? The police think that Theresa was having an affair and David’s jealousy led to murder. But many of Theresa’s friends don’t buy it, either, since she openly showed her devotion and love for her husband. Spike snoops around, discovering that the real killer may be connected to Theresa’s job working as a refugee aid worker. As Spike delves into the mystery, a woman from the refugee camp goes missing, as does someone else close to Spike, confirming his belief that he’s on the right track and that the police are covering something up.
Mogford’s second novel featuring his crime-solving attorney grips readers’ attention with the opening murder. The scene is ugly and vicious, destroying any notion we may have that this will be a fun romp through two inviting Mediterranean countries. Mogford does a great job of describing the locales, but the setting resonates because it feels truthful and free of romanticization, giving readers a glimpse into local life beyond a superficial travelogue. Though the book is briskly paced and thrilling, it doesn’t come at the expense of depth. Mogford packs the story with plenty of historical asides, but thankfully not in a manner that takes away from the central plot. Although he’s not a detective, Spike makes for an intriguing protagonist. Despite his reluctance to enter the fray as a detective, he feels honor-bound to do so and is tenacious enough in the face of danger to pursue a path toward the truth. Readers should greatly anticipate the next installment in this series. —Derek Hill
CRIME TIME, 9 APRIL 2013
Spike Sanguinetti has received some shocking news. His uncle and aunt have been found dead at their home in Malta. The Gibraltar based lawyer is called upon to travel to Malta for their funerals and to execute their wills. Upon arrival he finds the circumstances around the deaths to be far from clear. According to the Maltese police force it was the result of a domestic dispute that spiralled out of control with his uncle stabbing his wife before killing himself. However, Spike is far from convinced. Nothing in the background of the mild-mannered art historian David Mifsud suggests a propensity for the violence involved in the case.
Spike enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend Zahra in finding out more about the lives of his Aunt and Uncle. Zahra works for the same charity that Teresa worked for helping economic migrants and refugees from the effects of The Arab Spring. Gathered in filthy gated camps on the island, Spike finds their living conditions shocking and disturbing. Spike’s investigations lead him from the seedy underbelly of Maltese society to the crumbling grandeur of its capital Valletta and the legendary order of the Knights of St John of Malta. Before long Spike is involved in a search for a lost masterpiece by the artist Caravaggio that brings him into contact with the Maltese criminal underworld.
Sign of the Cross is the second in the Spike Sanguinetti series by author Thomas Mogford and follows on from the events of Shadow of the Rock. Mogford’s evocations of the atmosphere, language, architecture and landscapes of the Maltese archipelago are rich and detailed and create a memorable backdrop to his crime narrative. Delving into the disturbing world of people trafficking Mogford fuses a compelling and exciting plot with a detailed and enthusiastic study of Maltese history. Indeed it is Maltese history that is at the real heart of the story and Mogford does a fine job of exploring it. An absorbing crime thriller in a fascinating setting, surely Dashiell Hammett would have approved. Giles Morgan
BOOKLIST – APRIL 2013
Advanced Review – Uncorrected Proof
Sign of the Cross.
Mogford, Thomas (Author)
May 2013. 240 p. Bloomsbury, hardcover, $25.00. (9781620402009).
Lawyer and reluctant sleuth Spike Sanguinetti returns (following Shadow of the Rock, 2012) in this second installment in Mogford’s captivating series set in Gibraltar. This time Spike leaves the Rock with his aging father to attend the funerals of his aunt and uncle in Malta. The violent death of his relatives—his uncle apparently stabbed his wife before turning the knife on himself—doesn’t sit well with Spike, who decides to nose around a little before doing his job of executor of the wills. His nosing prompts a reunion with former girlfriend Zahra, who is working as a translator in Malta’s immigration camps, but just as suddenly as Zahra reappears in Spike’s life, she disappears again. Setting is clearly Mogford’s trump card, and he does for Malta in this episode what he did for both Gibraltar and Tangier in the first book, contrasting old and new worlds while forcing his characters to walk the delicate fault line between the two. Spike Sanguinetti is a younger, sexier, unmarried but still sensitive version of Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti, and his adventures may eventually attract a Leon-size audience. — Bill Ott
SHOTS MAG – APRIL 2013
Although he’s a lawyer rather than a private eye, Gibraltar-based Spike Sanguinetti certainly acts like one. The only problem with being based on the Rock of Gibraltar is that it’s rather small so the number of cases he can get involved in must be limited and his first outing last year took place mostly in Morocco just across the water.
In his second case, Sign of the Cross, from Bloomsbury, Thomas Mogford sends Sanguinetti to Malta, another British outpost of an island halfway across the Mediterranean, to investigate the very suspicious deaths of his aunt and art historian uncle, their deaths forming a very brutal prologue to the book. Some of the bitchy dialogue comparing the two islands is absolutely priceless and Mogford shows a sharp eye for descriptive detail.
I was impressed with Mogford’s debut, Shadow of the Rock last year and I think Sign of the Cross is even better, enhancing Spike Sanguinetti’s reputation as a resourceful and likeable hero, despite being a lawyer. If his adventures continue their island-hopping progress (where next – Cyprus?) hanging on to Spike’s coat-tails will be almost as much fun as a Mediterranean cruise without the downside of seasickness or that awful couple from Birmingham who always insist on joining one at the Captain’s table. Mike Ripley
LIBRARY JOURNAL – 1 MARCH 2013
Starred Review
Once again, Gibraltarian attorney Spike Sanguinetti confronts unwanted violence in his personal life, when his aunt and uncle die in their Malta home, apparently from a murder/suicide. Spike senses this is homicide and sets out to prove it. Readers know that the killer is looking for a valuable painting, but Spike must trace his uncle’s last days before he can make that connection. Along the way, he reconnects with his former lover, Moroccan refugee Zahra, and she opens doors for him in the Maltese community. Trouble is, the killer keeps pace with Spike and Zahra, and he has no compunction about taking more lives. By the time Spike realizes that human trafficking is part of the equation, Zahra is missing.
VERDICT: Starting with a tortuous opening and rarely letting up, Mogford’s superbly plotted thriller (after Shadow of the Rock) is just as riveting as his debut. Hang on for twists, layers of deception, and unexpected betrayals. Partner with Conor Fitzgerald (art and organized crime) and Harry Bingham (human trafficking).
KIRKUS REVIEWS – 15 FEBRUARY 2013
In the second novel of his series (Shadow of the Rock, 2012), Mogford sets up his unconventional hero for a third volume in the violent world of Gibraltar-based attorney Spike Sanguinetti.
Spike, whose family originally hails from Malta, returns there with his aging father, Rufus, when his father’s brother, David, and his beloved wife, Teresa, are found dead, victims of what police say is a murder-suicide. But Spike and his dad know that something is wrong. David loved his kind, beautiful wife, and their late-in-life marriage had been a source of great joy to both of them. Police believe David, an art expert, cut Teresa’s throat after discovering she had a lover. But those who knew Teresa, a generous woman who worked for a nonprofit refugee relief agency, say that the only love outside of David that Teresa possessed was her dedication to the agency’s clients. Slowly, Spike begins to realize that David and Teresa fell victim to something much more sinister than a love triangle. And when young women, including one from Teresa’s camp and another from Spike’s past, also disappear, Spike joins forces with family friends who are also quasi-celebrities on Malta and starts questioning the investigation. Soon, he is thrust into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that he neither prepared for nor understands. Mogford opens with a graphic homicide, and while his writing is atmospheric and evocative of the exotic locales his characters occupy, his prose tends to come off as dark and brutal. Romantic souls who want to escape for a few hours to Malta, or in a lesser capacity, Gibraltar, will learn plenty about their histories and customs, but there’s nothing pretty about either the settings or the characters they’ll meet along the way.
The author overuses changes in tense as a literary device, throwing in the requisite ho-hum evil conspiracy or two, but the cons don’t outweigh the pros in this hard-hitting, no-holds-barred novel that will leave readers panting for the next installment.