First published 2021
This true crime account examines the shocking assassination that rocked Italy's most famous fashion house. On a March morning in 1995, gunfire cuts down Maurizio Gucci outside his Milan office. The heir to the legendary fashion empire dies instantly. Three years later, investigators arrest his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli, whom tabloids dub "The Black Widow." Courts sentence her to 29 years for orchestrating the killing. Sara Gay Forden investigates the motives behind this brutal crime. Was Patrizia driven by rage over Maurizio's reckless spending that threatened the family fortune? Did jealousy consume her as Maurizio prepared to wed his mistress Paola Franchi? Or did investigators convict an innocent woman? Forden traces the complete saga of the Gucci family, from their rise to global prominence through near collapse and eventual recovery. The story reveals how personal vendettas and business pressures collided in deadly fashion within one of Italy's most glamorous dynasties.
Genres: historical-fiction, crime, biography-memoir, true-crime
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, true-story
Setting: Italy, Milan
Period: 1995, 1998
544 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books
Content warnings: murder