The Salamander

A political thriller set in Italy as the country walks a slippery, unfamiliar tightrope called democracy. On either side, well-organized groups of right-wing and left-wing extremists lie in wait, ready to pounce. An Italian general is found dead in his apartment. Next to his body is a small card inscribed with a salamander in a bed of flames. Is it suicide or murder? Dante Matucci, a captain in the Italian secret service, begins an investigation that leads him into a maze of political violence and intrigue. He meets the general's former mistress, Lili Anders, and embarks on a dangerous affair with the beautiful one-time spy. Soon he is drawn into the net of the great Salamander himself, millionaire industrialist Bruno Manzini, who is pitting his wits against the elaborate machinery threatening Italy's government. In a game of high stakes, how much is Matucci prepared to pay to survive? 'The Leopard and The Godfather rolled into one.' The Pittsburgh Press 'Once started you'll HAVE to finish it.' Sunday Mirror 'An exceptionally well-informed thriller.' The Times A book that came to me from MC, on the back of the "shoes of the fisherman", this story is again set in Italy at a time of crisis. The death of a general sets into play a series of events that point to a coup led by the intelligence agencies. Our hero Dante, like his namesake, has to go through the stage of hell, purgatory and heaven several times in order to try to achieve his goal of deflecting this coup. The plot twists and turns like the switchback roads of the Alps, information given by characters in the book is often unreliable, and like Daniel in conversation with the Archangel Michael, we only see in part that which is occurring. This sense of unease, and 'who do I trust', means that you can't assume you know what is going to happen. (from Goodreads)