Italy of Massimo Carlotto is a different world entirely, a dangerous setting for serious crimes committed by cruel men.”—The New York Times“Andrea Camilleri writes with such vigor and wit that he deserves a place alongside Donna Leon, along with the additional advantage of an insider’s sense of authenticity.”—The Sunday Times“A stunning tour de force from Carlo Lucarelli.”—The Sunday TelegraphItaly’s best crime writers present nine gripping, often darkly humorous short stories with settings ranging from Milan to Palermo by way of Rome and even Guadeloupe. The mafia is not just Sicilian but also Albanian, Croatian, and Chinese.These new stories are by Niccolò Ammaniti, Andrea Camilleri, Massimo Carlotto, Marcello Fois, Carlo Lucarelli, and others. These brilliant tales do not feature psychopathic cannibals or obscure, power-mad sects but ordinary criminals: a drug-addled cosmetic surgeon, inept blackmailers, and various other low-lifes lusting after easy money.Italian crime writing is replacing that of Scandinavia as the fastest growing in the genre. The huge success of I’m Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti followed by the Gabriele Salvatore film of the same name took the United Kingdom and the United States by storm. Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalban series (with seven popular titles in English so far), Carlo Lucarelli’s novels Almost Blue and Carte Blanche, and Massimo Carlotto’s The Goodbye Kiss are further evidence of this surge.

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