Un bello scherzo

An author on the bestseller list with each new book, always reviewed by the most reputable press outlets.

A new case for Andrea Vitali’s favourite character, Marshal Ernesto Maccadò, who thought that in Bellano you could have a quiet life, but who now has occasion to change his mind.

The dreams of grandeur of an aspiring poet, and glory coming to knock on the wrong door.

 

On the evening of 5 March 1935, a Voluntary Militia for National Security motorboat docks at the Bellano jetty. After a quiet day with nothing to do except polish already clean glasses and wait for evening to come, Gnazio, the owner of the pier café, witnesses a scene that leaves him dumbfounded: three men dressed entirely in black get out of the motorboat and, in silence, venture into the maze of streets of the district. Shortly afterwards, they resurface, carrying the dead weight of schoolmaster Fiorentino Crispini. After brutally loading the body aboard, the three Blackshirts sail towards Como. And what about Gnazio? He’d be better off minding his own business. But, when all’s said and done, Crispini is a regular customer; admittedly, he did look a bit odd lately, and hadn’t come to the café for a few days, but did he really deserve to be arrested? There’s just one solution: let Marshal Ernesto Maccadò deal with the Blackshirts.