A Fine Line

“A Fine Line is a terrific novel, a legal thriller that is also full of complex mediations on the life of the lawyer and the difficult compromises inherent in any system of criminal justice.  A book that is intensely rewarding at many levels.” Scott Turow 

When Judge Larocca becomes the subject of corruption allegations, counsel for the defence Guido Guerrieri goes against his better instincts and takes the case. Helped by Annapaola Doria, a motorbike-riding bisexual private detective who keeps a baseball bat to hand for sticky situations, he investigates the judge’s alleged links to the mafia. Annapaola makes sure that the truth is discovered, perhaps not always in the most orthodox way.

This is a suspenseful legal thriller but also a commentary on judicial ethics in Italy and, in the character of Judge Larocca, a penetrating meditation on human nature. 

Praise for Gianrico Carofiglio:

“The author occupies a niche similar to Erle Stanley Gardner and John Grisham. Carofiglio has endowed his hero with a discriminating taste for good food, but none of their relish for brutality.” Times Literary Supplement 

“As exacting and contemplative as any crime writer I can think of. Yet when the Italian defense lawyer isn’t doing something, he is thinking, and what goes on in his doubt-stuffed head is always captivating.” Washington Post 

“Hard-boiled and sun-dried in equal parts. Where Philip Marlowe would be knocking back bourbon and listening to the snap of fist on jaw, Guerrieri prefers Sicilian wine and Leonard Cohen.” Financial Times