Black Run

Already an international hit, a sly, sizzling mystery - the first in a sensational crime series - set in the Italian Alps, reminiscent of the works of Andrea Camilleri, D. A. Mishani, Donna Leon, and Henning Mankell Having got on the wrong side of the wrong people, deputy prefect of police Rocco Schiavone is exiled to Aosta, a small alpine town. The sophisticated and crotchety Roman is not best pleased - he despises mountains, snow, and the provincial locals as much as he disdains his superiors and their petty rules. But he loves solving crimes... And when a mangled body is discovered on a piste, Rocco faces his first challenge -identifying the victim, a procedure complicated by his ignorance of the customs, dialect, and history of his new home. Undaunted, Rocco explores the ski runs, mountain huts, and aerial tramways, meeting ski instructors, Alpine guides and the hardworking, enigmatic inhabitants of Aosta, amongst them a few beautiful locals eager to give him a particularly warm welcome. It won't be easy, this mountain life, especially with a corpse or two in the mix. But then there's nothing that makes Rocco feel more at home than an investigation. An insightful observer of human nature, Antonio Manzini writes with sly humour and a dash of irony, and introduces an irresistible hero - a fascinating blend of swagger, machismo, and vulnerability- in a colorful and atmospheric crime mystery series that is European crime fiction at its best.