Black August, A Commissario Trotti Investigation

An Italian police detective investigates a teacher’s murder in a novel by one of the “10 Best Modern European Crime Writers” (The Observer).

Commissario Trotti of Italy’s Polizia di Stato is called to the scene of the brutal murder of an old friend, schoolteacher Rosanna Belloni, who has been found bludgeoned in her apartment. Trotti’s superiors warn him off the case, but he is determined to hunt down the killer.

There are lots of loose ends. Rosanna’s sister, a notorious drug addict, is missing. Is a recent, unexplained suicide in the River Po connected to 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 problems in his private life.

Winner of a Crime Writer’s Association Award

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

“The Italian atmosphere is authentically beguiling. First-rate in every way.” —The Times (London)

“[Williams’s] simple but stylish dialogue-driven prose is convincingly Continental, his plotting impeccable.” —Time Out