In the Middle of August
Volume 1
A Capri Crime Novel
Volume 1
Published by Diogenes as Mitten im August
Original Title: Mitten im August

Murder on the most beautiful island in the world.

The Gulf of Naples is a test laboratory in times of climate change – and the setting of this highly topical crime novel.

Tense thrills in front of a beautiful backdrop: young policeman Enrico Rizzi investigates in the new Capri series.

Enrico Rizzi, a policeman on the island of Capri, usually deals with minor crimes. His quiet job means he can help his father in his fruit and vegetable garden above the Gulf of Naples. Until, in the middle of August, a rowing boat washes up on the rocky beach, containing a dead man – Jack Milani, an oceanography student and the son of a major industrialist family. It’s the first murder case for Rizzi, a case where the very future of the seven seas is at stake.

Enrico Rizzi: the young police officer who wants to stay true to his island.
Antonia Cirillo: his colleague transferred from northern Italy for disciplinary reasons, a woman with a secret.
Ispettore Lombardi: their boss, whose favourite office activity is enjoying the view of the Gulf of Naples.
Commissario Serra: the senior officer who makes Enrico Rizzi an alluring offer.
Gina: the woman by Enrico Rizzi’s side, who is trying to forget her terrible past.
Vito and Marta Rizzi: Enrico Rizzi’s parents, who tend their giardino with great love and make the very best peperonata.
 

Crime Fiction, Contemporary Literature, Bestseller
336 pages
2020

978-3-257-30076-5
Luca
Ventura

Luca Ventura prefers to remain anonymous. The writer lives on the Gulf of Naples, where he is currently working on the next case in the Capri series about the islander Enrico Rizzi and his north Italian colleague Antonia Cirillo.

Series

Quotes

ORF, Vienna

»Respite for the troubled mind.«

Barbara Hoppe
Das Wochenende, Frankfurt

»Luca Ventura’s Capri crime novel is the start of an atmospheric series which promises everything that Italy has to offer.«

Münchner Merkur, Munich

»A very promising start to a new crime series - and a trip to one of the most beautiful islands in Europe.«

Christina Mondolfo & Mathias Ziegler
Wiener Zeitung, Vienna

»This is the opening act to a promising new crimes series, whose protagonists have a fair few secrets still hidden.«

Petra Hartlieb
ORF-Magazin, Vienna

»Reading it made me want to go straight to Capri.«

Il Mattino, Naples

»The story is enthralling, the style is down-to-earth and accurate, the plot straightforward but well constructed.«

L'Eco di Bergamo

»An entertaining whodunnit with a classical structure, a sparkling read to take on holiday.«

News

Almost 40k copies sold of In the Middle of August by Luca Ventura
Up until the middle of December, we have sold almost 40’000 copies of Luca Ventura’s In the Middle of August, the first part...
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