Second in the contemporary Italian crime fiction series featuring Inspector Lojacono by the bestselling author of the Commissario Ricciardi novels. A kidnapped child and the burglary of a high-class apartment: Two crimes that seem to have no connection at all until Inspector Lojacono, known as “The Chinaman,” starts to investigate. Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone is the second book in a series set in contemporary Naples that draws inspiration from Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels and features a large cast of complicated cops doing battle with ruthless criminals. De Giovanni is one of the most dexterous and successful writers of crime fiction currently working in Europe. His award-winning and bestselling novels, all set in Naples, offer a brilliant vision of the criminal underworld and the police that battle it in Europe’s most fabled, atmospheric, dangerous, and lustful city. “Imagine Fellini and Chandler collaborating on a Neapolitan remake of Our Town, and that begins to give you an idea of what you’re in for with Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone. . . . While de Giovanni never wavers from a world where terrible people do terrible things, motivated by selfishness, greed, and loathing (for themselves, for others, for both), he illuminates the soft underbelly of fear and loss without being manipulative.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “The police characters are flawed, lovable, and believable—you cannot but take to them. . . . Naples comes through loud and clear in the story.” —Tripfiction

A new series of hardboiled crime fiction set in contemporary Naples by the author of the internationally bestselling Commissario Ricciardi series. They've made a fresh start at the Pizzofalcone precinct of Naples. They fired every member of the investigative branch after they were found guilty of corruption. Now, there's a new group of detectives, a new commissario, and a new superintendent. The new cops immediately find themselves investigating a high-profile murder that has the whole town on edge. Heading the investigation is Inspector Lojacono, known as the Chinaman, a cop with a chequered past and a reputation as crack investigator. Lojacono's partner is Aragona, who wants to be known as Serpico, but the name doesn't stick. Luigi Palma is the Commissario, Francesco Romano, aka Hulk, the self-deluded lieutenant. Lojacono, Aragona, Palma and Romano are joined by a cast of cops portrayed by de Giovanni with depth and intimate knowledge of the close-knit world of police investigators. De Giovanni is one of the most dexterous and successful writers of crime fiction currently working in Europe. His award winning and bestselling novels, all set in Naples, offer a brilliant vision of the criminal underworld and the lives of the cops in Europa's most fabled, atmospheric, dangerous, and lustful city.

The new instalment in the bestselling 'Bastards of Pizzofalcone' series, by one of Europe's most renowned and versatile mystery writers.

Transferred to Naples after a tangle with the Sicilian Mafia, Detective Inspector Giuseppe Lojacono feels that he's marking time, waiting out an awkward scandal. But when the bloodied bodies of teenagers start appearing around the city, victims of a strange and sinister killer whom police and locals take to calling The Crocodile, it soon becomes clear to Lojacono that the killings are more than simple Mafia hits, and that the labyrinthine streets of Naples are more deadly than he'd dared imagine. Can he catch the assassin in time to save the city's innocents? A bestseller in Italy, The Crocodile is a dark, bloody story of murder and revenge that will grip and thrill you.

The Bastards of Pizzofalcone Series In the fifth installment in Maurizio de Giovanni's bestselling series, the Bastards of Pizzofalcone face their hardest challenge yet: will they emerge stronger or will they succumb to Naples's darkest forces? Sometimes it takes facing a formidable adversary to truly know one's worth. The Bastards of Pizzofalcone may have found just that: when the brutal murder of a baker rattles the city, they are ready to investigate. There's nothing they wouldn't do to prove themselves to their community. But this time the police are divided: for the special anti-mob branch, the local mafia is doubtlessly responsible for the crime, but the Bastards are not so sure. De Giovanni is one of Europe's most renowned and versatile mystery writers. His award-winning and bestselling novels, all of which take place in Naples, engage readers in gripping tales of Europe's most fabled, atmospheric, dangerous, and lustful city.

The “engrossing” sequel to The Crocodile kicks off an Italian crime fiction series by the author of the bestselling Commissario Ricciardi novels (Publishers Weekly). They’ve made a fresh start at the Pizzofalcone precinct of Naples. They fired every member of the investigative branch after they were found guilty of corruption. Now, there’s a group of detectives, a new commissario, and a new superintendent. The new cops immediately find themselves investigating a high-profile murder that has the whole town on edge. Heading the investigation is Inspector Lojacono, known as “the Chinaman,” a cop with a checkered past who is currently riding a reputation as a crack investigator after having captured a serial killer known as “The Crocodile.” Lojacono’s partner is Aragona, who wants to be known as “Serpico,” but the name doesn’t stick. Luigi Palma, a.k.a. “Gigi,” is the commissario, Francesco Romano, known as “Hulk,” is the slightly self-deluded lieutenant. Lojacono, Aragona, Palma, and Romano are joined by a cast of cops portrayed by bestselling author Maurizio de Giovanni with depth and intimate knowledge of the close-knit world of police investigators. De Giovanni’s award-winning and bestselling novels, all set in Naples, offer a brilliant vision of the criminal underworld and the lives of the cops in Europe’s most fabled, atmospheric, dangerous, and lustful city. “Colorful, fully drawn characters and several intriguing subplots help propel the plot to a satisfying resolution.” —Publishers Weekly “De Giovanni provides satisfyingly logical answers to every riddle . . . Despite the Neapolitan setting, the crew of mismatched cops may remind you of similar teams in Sweden, New York, or Hollywood. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” —Kirkus Reviews

Ricciardi has visions. He sees and hears the final seconds in the lives of victims of violent deaths. It is both a gift and a curse. It has helped him become one of the most acute and successful homicide detectives in the Naples police force. But all that horror and suffering has hollowed him out emotionally. He drinks and doesn't sleep. Other than his loyal partner Brigadier Maione he has no friends. Naples, 1931. In a working class apartment in the Sanita' neighborhood an elderly woman by the name of Carmela Calise has been beaten to death. When Ricciardi and Maione arrive at the scene they start asking the neighbors questions. No one wants to talk but slowly a few interesting facts slip out. Carmela Calise was moonlighting as a fortuneteller and moneylender. In her decrepit apartment she would receive clients, among them some of the city's rich and powerful, predicting their futures in such a way as to manipulate and deceive. If economic ruin lurked in their futures, Calise was happy to help. For a price, of course. She had many enemies, those indebted to her, manipulated by her lies, disappointed by her prophesies or destroyed by her machinations. Murder suspects in this atmospheric thriller abound and Commissario Ricciardi, one of the most original and intriguing investigators in contemporary crime fiction, will have his work cut out for him.