I had never read anything by Antonio Manzini prior to receiving this book as part of the Early Reviewer program. But, I'm generally a fan of a gritty police / crime procedural and was interested to give Detective Rocco Schiavone a go. He's an abrasive, hard-edged guy, the type with a lot of emotional scars, but he's very good at his job.

This reads like an international crime / police procedural that you could imagine getting picked up by Netflix. There's a telegraphic cadence, style, and feel to the writing. I believe it's translated from Italian, but that's not an issue, just an observation.

The premise is interesting. The action opens with Rocco seeking revenge for the death of his best friend's girlfriend. Her murder was a case of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. At the time of her death, she happened to be sleeping in Rocco's bed. It was a professional hit and Rocco himself may have been the target. Turns out that's just the start of the loose or unraveling threads on a few of Rocco's cases. Figuring out who's behind her death requires him to take a look at his case history and a criminal where-are-they-now which gets complicated.

The setup of this story involves a lot of subplots and characters. The story is told from shifting POVs. Unlike many other procedural series-in-progress that I've dipped into, this one seems to presume and even rely on the reader's familiarity with previous installments of the series. Some of Rocco's choices and motivations, as well as references to past characters, cases, or situations were hard to understand without the back history from previous books in the series. (I believe this one is #4.)

Is it impossible to read this novel without having read those preceding it? No. But, for me, it made it harder to get into it and a less enjoyable read. If you are already familiar with the series I think it would mean a lot more. If you're not, and the genre appeals to you, don't start with this one. In this series, order matters. ( )

I enjoyed the other book by this author that I have read in the past, but this police procedural book was hard to get through. Too many characters, poor translation into English over many sections of the book. Received as part of Early Reviewer program. ( )

This third book in the Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone mystery series is a gritty police procedural with a peek into the dark world of organized crime. The reader is not spared the ugliness of this world's underbelly and its unbridled ruthlessness. This story is not easily understood without the background material from the earlier installments of this series. There are many characters, some of whom have similar names to others. There's a lot going on in this book and at times it is tough to keep all the pieces in order. But in the end, it is a satisfying thriller mystery with a bit of dangling unfinished business. No doubt, Manzini will pick up the thread and spin deftly the ongoing yarn.

This is a continuation of the story developed in the previous installment, "Out of Season" where a teenage girl had been kidnapped, raped, and held hostage deep in the Italian alps. It appeared to have been an effort on the part of organized crime. We find the girl is still struggling with her PTSD and has yet to re-enter the world and embrace her friends and schoolwork.

So too, we find Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone holing up in his apartment with Lupa, his faithful canine companion. Someone had broken into his apartment in an effort to murder him. The perpetrator nailed his best friend's girlfriend instead as she had sought out refuge in Rocco's apartment while figuring out relational difficulties with the boyfriend. But who, considering all the many perps he sent away, had had it in for Rocco and nailed Adèle instead?

The loanshark and kidnapping mastermind of "Out of Season" has been captured and sent away to prison. He is eventually found dead of a presumed heart attack. But what if it was murder? Meanwhile, a bar owner disappears and his faithful assistant is beside herself with worry and a strong sense of loss. While investigating these two cases, Rocco's is still working through the matter of Adèle's sudden demise. Somehow Rocco works out the many details and delivers a satisfying conclusion to the many mysteries.

I am grateful to publisher, Harper Collins and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for having provided a free uncorrected proof copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone. ( )

A light, entertaining mystery, maybe a perfect beach read for this summer. This was my first read by this author and I found it a bit confusing. Based on other reviews I've read, it seems this book makes more sense if you've read the first three in the Rocco Schiavone series. I plan to read the first three to fill in the blanks for Spring Cleaning. ( )

I enjoyed the other book by this author that I received through the Early Reviewers program (book 3 in the series) but I just couldn't make it through this one, even though I tried several times. Honestly, a big problem for me was keeping track of all the characters, and there are a lot. So many names were similar, and I had to re-read passages several times just to make sure I understood who was involved. I will probably let this sit for a while and come back to it at some point. ( )