River of Shadows: A Commissario Soneri Mystery

River of Shadows: A Commissario Soneri Mystery

by ValerioVaresi (Author)

Synopsis

In a bleak valley in Northern Italy, the River Po is swollen to its limits. The thick fog that usually clings to the town, blurring its surroundings and plunging its inhabitants into near-blindness, has been driven out by the raging storm. So when an empty barge drifts downriver, the fact the owner is missing does not go unnoticed. That same night Commissario Soneri is called in to investigate the murder of the boatman's brother. The brothers served together in the fascist militia fifty years earlier - could this be a revenge killing after so long? Soneri's investigation meets with a wall of silence from those who make their living along the banks of river. As the fog descends and the valley is hidden once more, Soneri must navigate fifty-year-old loyalties and deep-rooted rivalries before he can find out the truth.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Publisher: MACLEHOSE PRESS
Published: 02 Sep 2010

ISBN 10: 1906694273
ISBN 13: 9781906694272
Prizes: Shortlisted for CWA International Dagger 2011 and Premio Strega 2003.

Media Reviews
'The real coups of River of Shadows are twofold: the author's trenchant analysis of his country's ignoble past, married to the narrative acumen of a master storyteller' Barry Forshaw, Independent. 'Opens with a gripping, Dickensian description of relentless rainfall... a good line in wry humour' Laura Wilson, Guardian. 'This may not be a carefree country, but the sinister secrets it nurses are fodder for good fiction' Rosemary Goring, Scottish Sunday Herald. 'An astute analysis of Italy's modern challenges and conflicts' Thea Lenarduzzi, Times Literary Supplement. 'The plot nearly explores the ramifications of Italy's internal Fascist-Communist struggle during the Second World War, and Joseph Farrell's translation is appropriately poetic' Declan Burke, Irish Times. 'A dark, interesting mystery' Literary Review.
Author Bio
Valerio Varesi has been the Parma correspondent for La Stampa and La Repubblica. River of Shadows is the first of a series of thrillers featuring Commissario Soneri, now the central figure of one of Italy's most popular television dramas. Joseph Farrell has translated several major Italian authors, including Dario Fo.