This is about the third book in a series, of which I haven't read the first two. So I don't know too much about the backstory of the narrator, Guido Guerrieri. He's apparently lovelorn, his wife having left him, but the reasons for her departure aren't discussed.Guerrieri is a defense counselor in Bari, Italy, and he's asked to work on the appeal of a man named Fabio Paolicelli, accused of drug smuggling. Naturally, there are complications.
For one thing, Guerrieri recognizes Paolicelli as "Fabio Raybans," who in his youth was a neo-facist thug, possibly guilty of killing someone or at least being an accessory. More certain is the fact that he stood by and watched as one of his gang beat Guerrieri. Paolicelli doesn't recognize Guerrieri, probably doesn't even recall the incident, but Guerrieri certainly does. He's not at all sure he wants Paolicelli to go free even if he's innocent, and Guerrieri isn't convinced that he is. Then Guerrieri falls into lust for Paolicelli's wife. That's never good.
It begins to appear that Paolicelli is innocent. If so, it's going to be very hard to prove, if not impossible. Guerrieri broods, listens to music, and buys books to make himself feel better. You gotta love a guy who likes books as much as Guerrieri. I was reminded a bit of Ken Bruen's characters.
The last part of the book is the courtroom scene where Guerrieri makes his final argument. It's good stuff about the connection between "stories" and courtroom arguments, something to think about. Gianrico Carofiglio, according to the book cover, is "an anti-mafia prosecutor in southern Italy." He knows his way around a courtroom and around the law, for sure.
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