Bay of martyrs. Book 1, Clay Moloney

After a four-day deluge, Naples is flooded. Buildings collapse, sinkholes appear. Strange events spread across the city: ghostly voices emit from the Castel dell'Ovo and a neglected child finds a singing coin. A melancholy journalist searches for meaning, as the narrative takes us into the minds of those who have suffered in the floods. Mysteriously withdrawn from publication until Pugliese's death in 2012, and only now appearing in English, Malacqua is a richly peopled portrait of a much-mythologised city. Clay Moloney, a cynical reporter with a regional Australian newspaper, is expecting an easy Sunday at work when the body of a young woman washes up at the Bay of Martyrs. The death is an inconvenience for Clay, who's content filing obituaries and re-writing government press releases on the new multi-million-dollar airport. But the more he digs into the Bay of Martyrs incident, the more he realises the girl's death is not a case of misadventure, despite what the police tell him. Clay becomes obsessed with the murder investigation, putting himself and his co-worker Bec, an Irish-born photographer, in danger. Will Clay achieve justice for the young student, or will those in power stop him before he uncovers the truth? Tony Black was born in Australia and grew up in Scotland and Ireland. He is an award-winning journalist, editor, and novelist. He is the author of thirteen books including Paying for It, Gutted, Long Time Dead, and most recently Summoning the Dead. He has been nominated for a CWA Dagger seven times and was runner up in the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize for The Last Tiger Matt Neal is an Australian journalist, film reviewer, musician, songwriter. Born and raised in south-west Victoria, he's been a journalist with the Warrnambool Standard for 15 years. He's a prize-winning songwriter as well as a frequent movie reviewer for Australia's ABC Radio. "Clay Moloney, a downbeat and cynical reporter with an Australian newspaper, uncovers corruption when he looks into the death of a young woman whose body is washed up at the Bay of Martyrs. The death is an inconvenience for Moloney, who's content filing obituaries and re-writing government press releases on the new $1.5 billion airport. A looming election, an eviction order from his landlord and a needy partner with a marriage timetable only add to his woes. As Moloney becomes obsessed with the murder investigation, Bec, his bluntly to-the-point Irish photographer, suggests he may be using the case as a diversion away from a painful past. Moloney's suspicions about the crime point to local construction magnate, Lachlan Fullerton, and the region's election candidate, Wayne Swanson, the federal investment minister. Will Clay achieve justice for the young student, or will those in power stop him before he uncovers the truth?"--Publisher description