“A wonderful first novel that will seduce the fans of deranged murderers in the style of Hannibal Lecter. And beautifully written to boot.”— “A novel that caresses and kisses in order to violate the reader with greater ease.”— “A powerful psycho-thriller of spine-shivering intensity. Written with immense intelligence and passionate menace. Not to be read alone at night.”— Inspector Amaldi has enough problems: a city choked by a pestilent rubbish strike, a beautiful student harassed by a telephone stalker, a colleague dying of cancer, and the mysterious disappearance of arson files concerning the city’s orphanage. Then the mutilated bodies begin to appear. This novel of violence and decay, with its vividly portrayed characters, takes place over a few oppressive weeks in an unnamed Italian city that strongly evokes Genoa. A finalist for the European Crime Writing Prize.