Author: Leonardo Sciascia
Crime & mystery
Published on 9 April 2026 by Granta Books in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Granta Shorts' series.
Paperback | 272 pages
197 x 129 x 10 | 98g
In the piazza, a man lies dead. No one will say if they witnessed his killing. This presents a challenge to the investigating officer, a man who earnestly believes in the values of a democratic and modern society. Indeed, his enquiries are soon blocked off by a wall of silence and vested interests; he must work against the community to save it and expose the truth.The narrative moves on two levels: that of the investigator, who reveals a chain of savage crimes; and that of the bystanders and watchers, of those complicit with secret power, whose gossipy, furtive conversations have only one end - to stop the truth coming out.
This novel about the Mafia is also a mesmerizing demonstration of how that organization sustains itself. It is both a beautifully, tautly written story and a brave act of denunciation.