A golden September day on the Lago Maggiore. Matteo Basso, a former police psychologist who now runs a macelleria, finally has a chance to enjoy his new life in Cannobio and to listen to Verdi operas in peace. If only he hadn’t promised his friend Luigi all sorts of meat and sausage delicacies for his birthday party on the picturesque Isola dei Pescatori. When Matteo tries to steal away from the lavish celebrations, he makes a horrifying discovery: A lifeless body hangs impaled on the Isola Bella’s widely visible unicorn statue. Together with Commissioner Nina Zanetti, whom Matteo had tried tentatively to get closer to during his last case, he begins his investigation. What would lead someone to carry out such a dramatic execution? Do the sports officials, who were celebrating on the neighboring island that night, have something to do with it? And what’s the story with the painting that presaged the murder? The clues lead Matteo and Nina to famous pilgrimage sites high up in the mountains, to the Ligurian coast and to Milan’s legendary horse racing track.
“Vacation reading with plenty of local color, real characters and an unusual investigator” – Mokka on Death on the Lago Maggiore
