Tre mani nel buio

Three stories intertwine around crimes that are sometimes bloody and spectacular, sometimes subtle and insidious, all set in the Italian provinces: a quiet, sleepy “human-scale” town, a wealthy and orderly countryside, a seaside resort that, in the imagination of holidaymakers, represents the perfect amusement park—but like any proper amusement park, it can also contain a disturbing house of horrors.

Linking the three stories is not only the provincial setting, but also the same investigators (Commissioner Righetti, Inspector Cardona, and their collaborators) and a narrative theme both unsettling and deeply impactful: illness, both physical and mental. These three novellas showcase Eraldo Baldini’s particular skill in creating suspense from the first to the last line, his ability to make the most of the evocative atmospheres of the landscapes, and his original writing style, rapid yet elegant.