The Cold Summer Gianrico Carofiglio Blog Tour Review.

The summer of 1992 had been exceptionally cold in southern Italy. But that’s not the reason why it is still remembered. On May 23, 1992, a roadside explosion killed the Palermo judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three police officers. A few weeks later judge Paolo Borsellino and five police officers were killed in the center of Palermo. These anti-mafia judges became heroes but the violence spread to the region of Bari in Puglia, where we meet a new, memorable character, Maresciallo Pietro Fenoglio, an officer of the Italian Carabinieri.

The Cold Summer is an excellent mix of fact and fiction with a great main protagonist and a different feeling to the narrative that really worked and made this a great read.

I was particularly engaged however, by the strand that involved the “informant” which was extremely intriguing and often very disturbing. This is a story about the Mafia and it’s influences, not something I know much about, so this layer in the story helped form the rest – including the mystery element and the police investigation.

Fenoglio and Pellechia, the investigators on this are beautifully drawn and very different to each other – in a politically corrupt setting, with the case in question involving the kidnap of a child, this added a lot of depth to what was a slow burner of a crime novel with an edgy feel and a sense of realism that is above and beyond.

It is not a twisty book in the sense of there being jaw dropping moments, but it is a beautifully written and involving character drama with a great sense of place, a fascinating and layered novel which makes me want to read more from this author.

Recommended.

You can order  The Cold Summer (Bitter Lemon Press) Here.

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Happy Reading!