Nabb’s recurring character, Marshal Guarnaccia, is a non-com­mis­sioned officer in the cara­binieri, the Italian military-style police, who is stationed in Florence. Guarnaccia is a slow, dogged plodder and a wallflower, who is largely overlooked by those who encounter him, but who nonethe­less gets to the bottom of mysteries.

An old case, involving a series of double murders over a twenty-year period, has been reopened for political reasons. Several police officers, including the Marshal, have been seconded to a task force. The Marshal is troubled by what is clearly an attempt by the prosecutor to put an unsavory pedophile into the frame, in order to close the case quickly, and he starts digging around, finding evidence that had long been overlooked or never gathered.

Somewhat confusing. I had a hard time keeping track of Sergio and Silvano and Flavio and Fabio.