Set in 1989, Bari, southern Italy. Giorgio is a 22 year old law student whose life begins to change after he steps in to sort out a fight to help another intended victim, the slightly older charismatic Francesco, the two thereafter become friends. Francesco not the ideal student shows him how to cheat at cards and together they learn to exploit card-sharp for money. Giorgio becomes more and more fascinated by the way Francesco can manipulate any given situation. Partners in deceit they start to take their gambling to new heights from luxurious villas where the gullible rich play to the dark and dangerous dives with compulsive gamblers. Soon their new found lifestyles gives them access to luxury and sexual adventure. Giorgio enters a world where his own image of himself starts to fragment, revealing someone he no longer recognizes: someone who scares but attracts him.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Chitii of the Carabinieri is investigating a series of brutal rapes in Bari. Chitii is hoping that the women who have been assaulted will provide information and a description of the attacker. Two strands of the story begin to entwine themselves in a shocking and unexpected way.

The author Gianrico Carofiglio uses lines throughout this book for detail and exploration, cleverly leaving us readers to do some thought-provking work, this is something that I thoroughly enjoyed. A quotation was used and intelligently placed earlier on in this Novel, the author's aim I believe was signifying that change was beginning in Giorgio's life, like it had some meaning to himself, but he wasn't sure what it was yet: The Past is a Foreign Country; they do things differently there; taken from the classic novel The Go-Between by English author L.P.Hartley, (for any who have read that book the only real similarities would be the deep psychology, the wonderful intertwined between the lines and two friends spending summer time together and that's where it ends) this storyline in this book is quiet different. The author wants to show the past and present of his main character a young man from a good solid background, whose life gets drawn into crime and violence and begins to lose everything that he once knew and had.

This is a wonderful, stylish, well paced and intense psychological thriller with a very poetic read weaved into it. Carofiglio writing is intelligent and he also displays a realism to human behaviour drawing out all characters from their complex minds unraveling their thoughts, you even start to feel their descent into a life of crime. Francesco in particular, full of influence, charm, just captivating as the anti-hero, teacher of manipulation and deceit. Carofiglio also writes with a lot of clarity in this novel, In fact when reading through you begin to wonder how much of the book seems autobiographical. Gianrico Carofiglio is a former anti-Mafia Judge in Bari, Southern Italy; who has been involved with trails concerning corruption, organized crime and the traffic in human beings this all simply adds authority to this fictional account.

This novel Won the Premio Bancarella prize 2005, whose first winner was Ernest Hemingway in 1953. My congratulation to the author, reading this book was enough to make me backtrack to other books written. A special mention to Howard Curtis for the clear translation, Thank you.

If your looking for an intense psychological thriller with a completely satisfying end this is highly recommended.

Andrea Bowhill ( )