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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Significant; a historical massacre and its psychological aftermath are the novel's subject
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief adult content
Substance Use
Barely any
Mild
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Significant; the obsession that drives the investigation and the question of whether some truths are better left alone
What this book is about
Luca D'Andrea's Italian crime thriller — translated from the Italian 'La sostanza del male' — follows an American screenwriter who arrives in a remote Dolomite valley to make a documentary, and becomes obsessed with a decades-old massacre whose truth the valley refuses to give up. D'Andrea writes atmospheric crime with the mountains as a genuine presence.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Historical violence and massacre theme
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