Matteo Basso’s first case: the butcher from Cannobio with a passion for vintage cars and opera, will win readers’ hearts.
On the Italian coast of the Lago Maggiore, where the spring sun warms clear waters, Matteo Basso tries, in vain, to catch his first fish. The former police psychologist from Milan has quit his job and returned to Cannobio to take over his dead parents’ macelleria. The big vintage-car race is happening on the weekend and Gisella is supposed to help him with his salsiccia creations, which, unfortunately, he still regularly messes up. But then Gisella’s dead body is found on the shores of the lake. The assumption is that she drowned. But Matteo doesn’t believe it was an accident; Gisella was an excellent swimmer. He takes the investigation into his own hands. Why had Gisella been so desperate to talk to him the night before? And what was her connection to Maldini, the dicey gran signore from Stresa?
When there’s a mysterious accident at the race and Matteo himself is suddenly in danger, Commissioner Zanetti also suspects that she’s dealing with a tricky case. The grueling investigation leads the two of them all the way to luxurious Milan and deep into the history of the region.
