"It's hard to resist Williams as he unfolds his tale in tiny, deliciously wry narrative nuggets--100 titled chapters of puckish literary pointillism."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Like Henning Mankell's The Troubled Man, this leisurely paced novel is as much about an aging detective pondering his own mortality as it is about solving a crime . . . Williams successfully draws us into Trotti's mind as he vacillates between despair and defiance."
--Booklist

"Readers of this cerebral, melancholy tale will hope to see more of the conflicted Trotti, a man heavy with regret, who, when confronted with the possibility of death, fervently wishes for it, yet also desires to live."
--Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Commissario Trotti Investigations

"[Williams] capture[s] the Northern Italian milieu with particular insight."
--The Washington Post

"Splendidly realized . . . Williams's pared down descriptions and staccato dialogue are a constant pleasure."
--Financial Times

"Commissario Trotti is clever and tough . . . Offers insights into the Italian power structure, which is far more interesting than it is stable."
--Newsday

"[Williams's] simple but stylish dialogue driven prose is convincingly Continental, his plotting impeccable."
--Time Out

"Wake up and smell the grappa . . . A chilling education, a scalpel-sharp exploration of Italy's body politic. Timothy Williams knows the ABC of corruption--Andreotti, Berlusconi, Craxi."
--Ian Rankin