McCullough’s Carmine Delmonico
Colleen McCullough, most well known for her master work The Thornbirds, has written a great series about a detective named Carmine Delmonico. Set in the 1960′s, Carmine and his team of detectives do not have the modern forensic tools that are common today. They have to rely on intuition and pick up the unusual behavior, patterns, differences and similarities of the suspects and witnesses in their cases. The series is set in Connecticut. Carmine drives a Ford Fairlane. I had one of those – so icing on the cake for me. Carmine is a handsome man of Italian heritage: tall, dark and handsome. He’s about 5’11″ and has married a 6’3″ English transplant. The city they reside in has colleges, a university, and a research hospital. The hospital is the place he met his English wife, Desdemona. They add two sons as the story progresses.
I like the story (ies) because they are a nice change from the up-to-date detective stories with CSI, Criminal Minds type forensics and computer data that somehow solve the crime. Carmine and his detectives use deduction, logic and reasoning to a successful end. I also have to declare that I am a sucker for detective novels so I am always happy to find another prolific author. More on that later. The titles of the novels are On/Off, Too Many murders and Naked Cruelty.
Another great thing I like about Colleen McCullough is her writing style; more specifically her use of language. She is one of the very few authors I read that uses words with which I am not entirely familiar. As I have devoured the Carmine Delmonico series, I have taken to have a tablet and pen nearby to write the words I would like to know more about. I read popular literature, no Homer for this kid, so it’s a step up for me to come across words in my reading that I don’t not know. However, I have to say that my study of Latin helps, giving me a good idea of the word’s meaning. So, that being said, I have a list for my readers of a few of the words Mrs. McCullough uses that I had to look up along with their meanings. See if you can match the words to their meanings.
1. abjure a. newly hatched
2. attenuate b. a paralytic poison
3. confabulate c. to make bloodless
4. curare d. to tell about
5. exsanguinate e. compliant
6. klatch f. gossip
7. loquaccous g. a timid person
8. milquetoast h. whispers
9. obsequious i. noisy, vehement
10. penumbra j. cool composure
11. prurient k. renounce
12. salubrious l. dilute
13. sangfroid m. recant
14. squabbed n. lecherous
15. susurrations o. chat
16. versify p. fond of talking
17. vociferous q. healthy
Hey, I’m not claiming to have a good command of the English language. I do however like to broaden my horizons and that includes learning and using words new to me. I did a quick calculation: 100 words, 3 books averaging <335 pages, so a new word every 10 pages. That’s a challenge when the books I read have no words that I don’t know. Is that a double negative? I always loved grammar. Till next time, Ciao!
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2 Responses to McCullough’s Carmine Delmonico
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Impressive, had to get out my Websters!
Yes, I liked the challenge. That old saying “a mind that stretched never returns to it’s original shape” is so true.