The Salati Case
Castagnetti is a private detective who lost his parents and his optimism long ago. He's impatient with the world of appearences and deceit and prefers the company of his bees to that of humans. At least bees believe in order, hard work and self-sacrifice.
An old woman, Silvia Salati, has recently died. Fourteen years ago her second son went missing whilst waiting for a train to Rimini. In order for her estate to be disposed of, Castagnetti is commissioned by a notary to change the son's status from "missing" to "presumed dead". But Castagnetti isn't the sort to content himself with presumption. He likes certainty, the kind of certainty that comes from seeing a skeleton.
Before long he's reopening wounds from years ago and exposing family secrets to those who have tried to suppress them. The heirs want their inheritance, but Castagnetti wants to throw justice in too. And that means uncovering a plot as thick and chilling as the Padanian fog.
THE SALATI CASE was published by Faber on 2nd July 2009.
"A fast-talking, pocket-sized box-ticker of a private-dick novel, The Salati Case sees Tobias Jones revisit the modern Italian underworld he combed through in his 2003 non-fiction book The Dark Heart of Italy.... Angry, violent and uncompromising, with a shaved head, dead parents and a sideline in beekeeping, Castagnetti [the private detective] will be back, no danger: he is too good a creation to be restricted to a single case."
- Observer
"This is a worthy successor to Michael Dibdin".
- Evening Standard
"[This] promises to be an excellent series."
- Daily Telegraph
"Taut and thoughtful... fascinating detail."
- Guardian
An old woman, Silvia Salati, has recently died. Fourteen years ago her second son went missing whilst waiting for a train to Rimini. In order for her estate to be disposed of, Castagnetti is commissioned by a notary to change the son's status from "missing" to "presumed dead". But Castagnetti isn't the sort to content himself with presumption. He likes certainty, the kind of certainty that comes from seeing a skeleton.
Before long he's reopening wounds from years ago and exposing family secrets to those who have tried to suppress them. The heirs want their inheritance, but Castagnetti wants to throw justice in too. And that means uncovering a plot as thick and chilling as the Padanian fog.
THE SALATI CASE was published by Faber on 2nd July 2009.
"A fast-talking, pocket-sized box-ticker of a private-dick novel, The Salati Case sees Tobias Jones revisit the modern Italian underworld he combed through in his 2003 non-fiction book The Dark Heart of Italy.... Angry, violent and uncompromising, with a shaved head, dead parents and a sideline in beekeeping, Castagnetti [the private detective] will be back, no danger: he is too good a creation to be restricted to a single case."
- Observer
"This is a worthy successor to Michael Dibdin".
- Evening Standard
"[This] promises to be an excellent series."
- Daily Telegraph
"Taut and thoughtful... fascinating detail."
- Guardian
