Via delle Oche

It is 1948. Italy's fate is soon to be decided in bitterly contested national elections. A man has been found dead in via delle Oche, at the center of Bologna's notorious red light district. The city fathers would like to disguise the man's death as a suicide. But Commissario De Luca knows better. While the man hanging from a rafter does have a noose around his neck and an overturned stool beneath him, when the stool is righted, his feet don't reach the seat. "Normal enough that a hanged man grows a little longer if he's left a while," De Luca quips. "But I've never heard of one getting shorter."
As always, De Luca is unwilling to look the other way when evidence in the man's murder points to local politicians and members of the Bologna police force. The brutal worlds of crime and politics conspire once again, and in this installment of the renowned De Luca trilogy, sex for money is added into the mix. As elections creep nearer, the death count escalates with every new lead. De Luca is so close to the truth he can smell it, and it reeks of danger.

About the Author
Described as “a noir master” by Kirkus Reviews, Carlo Lucarelli is one of Italy’s best-loved crime writers. He began his career with the popular De Luca trilogy (Carte Blanche, The Damned Season, Via delle Oche) and has since published over a dozen novels and collections of stories.

About the Translator
Michael Reynolds’ translations include The Big Question and The Miracle of the Bears by Wolf Erlbruch, and all three books in Carlo Lucarelli’s De Luca trilogy. He is the author of Sunday Special, and La notte di Q, a children’s tale illustrated by Brad Holland.