Persona Non Grata: Commissario Trotti #3

(Paperback)

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Description

Northern Italy, 1985: Commissario Piero Trotti is on the verge of retirement from the police force. He is 56 years old, and though he is widely respected for his integrity and work ethic, he is not widely liked. The junior detectives he works with transfer out because he's too hard on them; his fellow commissioner is trying to force him out. Even his family has walked out of his life: his adult daughter has moved to Bologna, and his wife has left him for New York. All signs say Trotti that he needs to make a change. Instead he digs in his heels to discover the truth.

Reviews

Praise for Persona Non Grata

[Williams] capture[s] the Northern Italian milieu with particular insight into
the changing attitudes of its people as a younger generation discards the old
traditions of family life.
The Washington Post

This third Commissario Trotti book lives up to the high promise of the first two . . . A stylish thriller-cum-police procedural both clever in conception and brilliant in execution.
Irish Times

Williams' prose is stylishly basic . . . [Commissario Trotti] is a splendid creation.
Oxford Times

Excellent atmosphere, good dialogue and Trotti a very human policeman.
The Times

A dark and gripping novel of betrayal, real and imaginary . . . The disparate threads of this cerebral thriller are expertlynay, brilliantlyentwined, short jump-cut chapters adding pace without blunting the books serious edge. The dialogue crackles with everyday inconsistencies, and Trotti, a tortured soul trapped in a shell of ruthless perfection, is both credible and original. Dont retire just yet, Commissario.
Bloodhound

Breathtakingly good . . . There are many splendid things about this absorbing, resonant novel: the elliptical dialogue, occasionally reminiscent of Chandler, the care with which minor charactors are drawn; the sureness of touch in dealing with delicate shifts in relationships.
London Evening Standard

Well-written, evoking a true Italian sphere.
Argus Weekender

With offbeat dialogue, curious sidelights, and a convincing psycho-solution
to the central mystery, this thick Italian tangle is edgily absorbing and darkly
rewarding.
Kirkus Reviews

Williams never writes a straightforward novel . . . Here again is a brooding maze for Trotti to traverse to an ending full of surprise.
Library Journal

As in the authors's previous novels, The Metal Green Mercedes and The Red Citroen, the principle pleasure is in the hero, the taciturn Italian policeman Commissioner Trotti and the unique world he inhabits . . . Trotti himself is perversely lovable; totally dedicated but not without dark, self-deprecating humor.
Booklist

[A] terse but elegant narrative that moves forward in slanting leaps rather than pedantic plods . . . Highly recommended, as with the first two in the series.
International Noir Fiction


Praise for the Commissario Piero Trotti series

"A delight.
The Observer, "10 Best Modern European Crime Writers"

"Subtle, tense and gripping.
Val McDermid

Commissario Trotti is clever and tough . . . His investigation is fascinating to an American reader because it offers insights into the Italian power structure, which is far more interesting than it is stable.
Newsday

Long live Trotti.
Financial Times

Superb.
TheScotsman

Breathtakingly good.
Evening Standard

The ageing moody Trotti is a subtle and convincing creation; the other characters are portrayed with depth and sensitivity, and the Italian atmosphere is authentically beguiling. First-rate in every way.
The Times

Simple but stylish . . . [Williams's] plotting [is] impeccable.
Time Out

Fans of dark-edged, politically textured Euro-mystery will want to keep track of Trottis adventures.
Kirkus Reviews

Stylish and excellent. Those who like Dibdin will eat it up.
Lionel Davidson

Williams writes like an angel. He does, but thank Beelzebub, it's a mongrel angel with a bit of fiend about him.
Oxford Times

Trotti himself is perversely lovable; totally dedicated but not without dark, self-deprecating humor.
Booklist

Author Bio

CWA award-winning author Timothy Williams has written five crime novels set in Italy featuring Commissario Piero Trotti, as well as two mysteries set on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe (Another Sun and The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe). In 2011, the Observer placed him among the ten best modern European crime novelists. Born in London and educated at St. Andrews, Williams has taught at the universities of Poitiers in France, Bari and Pavia in Italy, and at Jassy in Romania. He has lived in the French West Indies, where he teaches, since 1980.