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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Violence in a kidnapping context; a death; no graphic content
Language
Barely any
Elegant prose with an Italian sensibility; mild language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Adult relationships in an Italian milieu; mild
Substance Use
Barely any
Wine — integral to the Italian setting
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological weight of working within a corrupt system; Zen's own moral ambiguity; the peculiarly Italian relationship between power and law
What this book is about
Aurelio Zen — a Venice-born detective in Rome's interior ministry — is dispatched to Perugia to investigate the kidnapping of a wealthy industrialist that has gone wrong. A brilliant, atmospheric debut that introduced one of crime fiction's most ambiguous and compelling investigators: a man who understands Italian corruption because he grew up inside it, and who navigates it with exhausted sophistication.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Mafia kidnapping and its violent consequences
Institutional corruption in Italian law enforcement — examined with insider complexity
Reader Verification
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