The Cold Summer

By: Gianrico Carofiglio

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

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. Fenoglio, recently abandoned by his wife, must simultaneously deal with his personal crisis and the new gang wars raging around Bari. The police are stymied until a gang member, accused of killing a child, decides to collaborate, revealing the inner workings and the rules governing organised crime in the area.

The story is narrated through the actual testimony of the informant, a trope reminiscent of verbatim theatre which Carofiglio, an ex-anti-mafia judge himself, uses to great effect. The gangs are stopped but the mystery of the boy's murder must still be solved, leading Fenoglio into a world of deep moral ambiguity, where the prosecutors are hard to distinguish from the prosecuted.

©2018 Gianrico Carofiglio (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

Fine work

This is a consistently fine writer. His Guerrero series will be hard to beat but this is a different field. We'll see.

Hopefully, the start of another great series!

As usual, Gianrico Carofiglio has delivered a masterful slice of life in Bari, Italy - kidnapping / corruption / food. Sean Barrett’s amazing vocal range makes each character distinct and alive. Fans of Guido Gierrieri will love what I hope is the start of a new series.

Carofilio delivers a great story once again.

Excellent story! Well developed characters. Surprising twist at the end. The Marshall is thoughtful, clever and an appealing character.

Bit of a boring start ....but then

starts off with some boring questions and answer - very factual but for me too much - and then it starts getting on with a fabulous story and twist at the end. As always Sean Barrett's performance is just fabulous!!

Intelligent Italian noir

Written by a judge. Great story with fantastic characters, well-written psychological profiles and great writing craft.