The Few by Nadia Dalbuono
Detective Leone Scamarcio is a straight cop with a bent history: his father was a leading member of the Mob, and while he might not have inherited his father’s criminal inclinations, his father’s reputation hovers behind him like a shadow. Nevertheless, there’s one person who’s convinced of his honesty – the police chief, who hands him a file that needs to be kept quiet. A foreign minister has been photographed in the company of a male prostitute, the politician has left town to hide from his mistakes, and the prostitute is now dead in his Trastevere flat, his body stabbed repeatedly. A camera is found in the room, and the pictures that are uncovered – well – they’re not pleasant. Soon, Scamarcio is trying to track down a killer, all the while without disclosing what he’s doing, who asked him to do so, and who the extraordinarily high-ranked person is that asked it of the chief in the first place. Scamarcio’s search takes him from a corrupt and heated Rome to the sunny and relaxed island of Elba, where a young American girl has disappeared. The police on Elba are ill-equipped to deal with the crime that has unfolded right on one of their famed beaches. From four-star hotels and seedy alleyways, to a police force striving to do what’s right and the Mafioso family that solves disturbing criminal problems without the red tape, unless it’s around the throat – Scarmarcio’s journey is scenic and grim.
The detective’s frequent coffee stops must be the fuel behind the book’s relentless pace, and Nadia Dalbuono has the ability to throw out new information, red herrings, loose-tongued suspects, and glimpses into both Scamarcio’s fractured past and current grappling with his morals. Violence gets the job done, but – mostly – it’s the last route he wants to take. There are a few loose ends to the plot that stay undone, but this is the first in a two-book series. The Few is a rock-solid read, with the click-clack of shoes on cobblestones and the oppressive heat of a Mediterranean summer making for a delectable spring treat.
