A handsome Italian wants nothing more than to escape his ill-suited life as a policemen in a gloomy Florence suburb. A beautiful American artist travels to Italy to kill her philandering husband-a Chilean violinist who bears an uncanny resemblance to the policeman. When their paths cross, the result is a sexy, lush devilment spun with suspense. What the Body Requires erupts with music, art, and a cast of unforgettable characters-a whip-smart erotic novel that pulls back the curtain on the real perils of obsessive desire.

MORE PRAISE "Highly ambitious and of the deepest seriousness... with an evocative prose and an exotic, vividly imagined landscape. The consistency with which the writing invests everyday actions and objects with an almost erotic fervor is truly extraordinary." -R. M. Berry, author of Leonardo's Horse

"This book is highly sexual, but never clichéd. Di Blasi just kills it." -Melanie Page, The Next Best Book Blog

"Throughout the novel, Di Blasi plays with contrasts: the thin lines separating life and death, shadow and light, love and hate.... The rhythm and texture are erotic in ways very removed from the usual paperback romance. Her entrancing descriptions are both tactile and cerebral." -Carolyn Szczepanski, The Pitch

"This one gets a Thumbs-Up again. Of course, it's Di Blasi!" -Nathan "N. R." Gaddis, Goodreads Librarian