Italian crime writer Massimo Carlotto has been described as Italy's best living crime writer, and he certainly seems to have done his background research.
Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Carlotto spent years on the run in Latin America before being arrested, tortured, and finally pardoned in the 1990s.
After a drug 'mule' carrying a consignment of Colombian cocaine is arrested arriving in Venice, art smuggler Nazzareno Corradi finds himself in the frame as his Italian contact, despite having nothing to do with the drugs trade.
His lawyer brings in Carlotto's maverick trio of private investigators, led by blues club proprietor and ex-con Alligator, who attempts to work out which dubious characters are responsible.
The Colombian Mule is apparently based on a true story, which is odd given how many cliches of the hard-boiled genre creep into its telling. The morally ambiguous tone makes this an intriguing read, and the suspense is well maintained, but this lacks the richness of Michael Dibdin's Italian mysteries.
The Colombian Mule by Massimo Carlotto, published in hardback by Orion priced £9.99.
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