Shadows on the Lake
A Stefania Valenti Mystery
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A new atmospheric Italian mystery novel set in Lake Como, introducing the clever and captivating Inspector Stefania Valenti
During the construction of a new road to the Swiss border in the mountains above Lake Como, the remains of a young man are unearthed on the powerful Cappelletti family’s property. On the case is Stefania Valenti, forty-five, divorced with a young daughter, and a brilliant, determined police inspector.
Her investigation takes her back to World War II and deep into the history of the region, a place that during the war attracted smugglers, deserters, secret agents, and fleeing Jews. Steeped in the beautiful atmosphere of Northern Italy, Valenti’s investigation brings to light a family’s secret, a tragic romance, and reveals a fascinating piece of Italian history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Husband-and-wife Cocco and Magella's strong series kickoff introduces police inspector Stefania Valenti, a devoted, if plausibly imperfect, single mother, who's fiercely dedicated to the pursuit of justice. The excavation of a tunnel linking the Lake Como region with Switzerland has engendered controversy. A local Italian legislator has publicly denounced the project's destruction of acres of forest and warns of the traffic congestion the completed roadway would cause. When the demolition of an abandoned cottage uncovers human skeletal remains, the evidence suggests that they belong to someone who was murdered decades earlier. Despite the paucity of clues, even as to the victim's identity, Valenti persists in investigating the cold case, though her interview of a member of the influential Cappelletti family, whose property values have increased as a result of the tunnel project, ruffles some feathers. Police procedural and whodunit elements combine nicely with a complex, three-dimensional lead.
