A Bitter Lemon Press publication that is the second book to feature Guido Guerrieri a principled and very well respected lawyer who tends to take on lost causes. I have read the first book and was looking forward to the next instalment. I had high hopes that this book would keep to the extremely high standards set by book one.
No one in Bari wants to represent Martina in her efforts to bring her ex-boyfriend to trial for assault and battery. He is a successful doctor and the son of a powerful and vindictive local judge. Witnesses are suddenly unwilling to testify and Martina has a history of psychological problems. Guerrieri knows this case is likely to bring his legal career to a premature and messy end. But he cannot resist the appeal of a hopeless cause. Nor deny his attraction to Sister Claudia, the fiercely protective young woman in charge of the shelter where Martina is living. Sister Claudia, who usually wears a black leather jacket and jeans, shares Guerrieri’s love for martial arts and his outrage at the hypocrisy and corruption revealed by the trial.
Guido Guerrieri is back and he meets with Sister Claudia and she asks if he will represent a woman, Martina who is trying to set up a civil claim against her ex-partner who happens to be the son of a local and very prominent judge. We see Guido having to get down and dirty within the world of stalking and aggression. He finds himself delving into ‘the old boys’ network in Bari as well.
It is a story that is dark and gritty but what else would you expect in a novel about female sexual assault? An enlightening view of the legal system in Italy and highlights how dirty the tricks get as this case develops. We see Guido fight back with everything he has, in a case where justice is served to the one who can afford the better lawyer instead of the best witness or even evidence.
Along with the legal side to the novel, there is Guido himself. He is a man who has his own issues that show us what type of man he is. One who is sensitive and willing to take people on trust…an unusual lawyer in that respect but one who does things his own way. I do think Guido is a great main character and have found him an intriguing man since I was introduced to him in book one.
It is clear that Gianrico Carofiglia knows what he is writing about and that brings a sense of reality to this case and everything surrounding it. I must mention the translation of this book, Howard Curtis has translated the novel brilliantly, everything I throughout. There is nothing ‘lost in the translation at all. I have discovered a love of translated fiction since I began blogging and it is books like A Walk In The Dark that just embed that love deeper into my soul!
A taut, legal thriller that’s not an extra-long read but it has depth and it’s a pacy read. I love Italy how it’s described in this series too. Highly recommended if you enjoy a legal thriller that shines a light on the system and its faults too.
Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Bitter Lemon Press for my gifted copy of the book.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 