Black August - Softcover

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

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 arising in his private life.