by Donna Leon
Part of Commissario Brunetti, book 4
First published 2006
A truck crashes on a treacherous Alpine road, killing not only the driver but eight women locked in the cargo hold. Meanwhile, Carlo Trevisan, a prominent lawyer, is shot dead on the intercity train from Padua to Venice. Commissario Brunetti suspects the two tragedies connect, especially when Trevisan's accountant turns up murdered two days later. The investigation leads to a seedy Padua bar so dangerous that even locals avoid it. This establishment appears central to a criminal network, but Brunetti needs another death before he truly understands what happened. The case forces him to confront the brutal realities of human trafficking and the corrupt systems that enable it.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, mystery-solving
Setting: Padua, Venice, Alps
Period: Contemporary
326 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: trafficking, violence