First published 2018
New York detective Joe Petrosino faces a crime wave that terrorizes the city in summer 1903. Italian immigrant children disappear in kidnappings. Victims turn up shot in the head. Bombs destroy buildings across the city. Death threats arrive at the homes of judges, senators, and wealthy families like the Rockefellers. Each crime bears the same signature: a black hand symbol. The press feeds on the violence while ethnic tensions explode. Known as the "Italian Sherlock Holmes," Petrosino uses his skills in disguise and detection to hunt the criminals. The crimes grow bolder and spread beyond New York's borders. Evidence points toward Sicily as the source. Petrosino follows the trail across the ocean, determined to stop the early Mafia leaders. But the dangerous organization has no intention of letting him leave Sicily alive.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, detective-story, international-intrigue
Setting: New York City, Sicily
Period: 1903
408 pages · Paperback · Peninsula
Content warnings: violence