Black August

Commissario Trotti #4

By: Timothy Williams

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Paperback | 15 February 2015 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.0 x 12.6 x 2.2

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Commissario Trotti of Italy's Polizia di Stato is called to the scene of a brutal murder. Despite the badly disfigured face on the corpse, Trotti recognizes it as schoolteacher Rosanna Belloni, an old friend. His superiors warn him off the case, but Trotti is determined to hunt down the killer.

First he must find Rosanna's missing sister, a known drug addict. But the deeper he digs, the more questions he is forced to ask himself. Is a recent, unexplained suicide in the River Po connected with the murder? Where does the discovery of a car dredged up from the Delta fit in? Faced with a seemingly unsolvable mystery, Trotti must also grapple with obstructive colleagues and the problems arising in his private life.

With its brilliantly realized Italian setting, subtle plotting and fine characterization, Black August is a must-have addition to Timothy Williams's critically acclaimed Trotti series.

Series Overview: Commissario Piero Trotti investigates crime in a small, unnamed city on the river Po in northern Italy. Set against the backdrop of the political unrest reshaping Italian cities after the "Italian miracle" of the mid-20th century, the Trotti novels capture a historical moment with grace, subtlety, and authenticity.

Industry Reviews

Praise for Black August

Winner of the 1992 Crime Writers' Association Award

"Trotti is a subtle and convincing creation; the other characters are portrayed with depth and sensitivity, and the Italian atmosphere is authentically beguiling. First-rate in every way."
--The Times

"[Williams's] simple but stylish dialogue-driven prose is convincingly Continental, his plotting impeccable."
--Time Out

"Williams writes like an angel. He does, but thank Beelzebub, it's a mongrel angel with a bit of fiend about him."
--Oxford Times

"Ingenious and evocative."
--Literary Review

"Williams creates a highly convincing Italian background and is superb at giving his characters oblique dialogue."
--The Scotsman

"Williams has a gift for creating characters that stick with you long after you have put the book down . . . Add to that gift for recreating the hazy tensions of a small Italian city baking in the summer sun, and you begin to appreciate why so many critics find his novels gripping reads."
--Western Mail

"A fresh and convincing setting . . . Signor Trotti [is] a well-drawn and sympathetic figure."
--Western Morning News

"If you haven't discovered the Trotti books . . . all of them are highly recommended."
--International Noir Fiction

"Another excellent novel . . . as gripping in its psychological investigations as Simenon."
--British Book News

"Take a break with the soothingly cynical company of an Italian crime solver. Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen, Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti, and Andrea Camilleri's Salvo Montalbano come to mind. Add to these Timothy Williams's Commissario Piero Trotti."
--Read Me Deadly

Praise for the Commissario Piero Trotti series

"A delight."
--The Observer, "10 Best Modern European Crime Writers"

"Subtle, tense and gripping."
--Val McDermid

"Commissario Trotti is clever and tough . . . His investigation is fascinating to an American reader because it offers insights into the Italian power structure, which is far more interesting than it is stable."
--Newsday

"Long live Trotti."
--Financial Times

"Breathtakingly good."
--Evening Standard

"Fans of dark-edged, politically textured Euro-mystery will want to keep track of Trotti's adventures."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Stylish and excellent. Those who like Dibdin will eat it up."
--Lionel Davidson

"Trotti himself is perversely lovable; totally dedicated but not without dark, self-deprecating humor."
--Booklist

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