PI Marco "the Alligator" Buratti returns in a thriller from the author whose "brand of crime writing is tougher than even the toughest American noir" (Josh Bazell, national bestselling author). Massimo Carlotto has been described as "the reigning king of Mediterranean noir" ( Boston Phoenix), "about as gritty as they come" ( The New York Times), and "the best living Italian crime writer" ( Il Manifesto). Now, he gives his American readers his most memorable character yet: ex-con turned private investigator Marco Buratti, a.k.a. the Alligator. Closing the door on a crime-ridden past, Buratti plans to spend the rest of his days in the darkness of a seedy nightclub sipping Calvados and listening to the blues. But things don't quite work out as he planned: though he may be through with his past, his past isn't through with him. When his gangster friend Beniamino Rossini's girlfriend is kidnapped, Buratti is forced to investigate a case of international drug dealing. He will be thrown headfirst into the underworld he has struggled to escape. In the world of Massimo Carlotto's fiction, new and old criminal organizations collide and innocent bystanders are as hard to find as honest cops. "A cocktail of mystery and romanticism, a novel in which there are no real heroes and no signs of redemption. In short, classic Carlotto." — Rolling Stone (Italy) "A gripping novel that can be read on different levels, as a breathtakingly dark noir novel or as a means of penetrating reality. These two levels magically blend in Massimo Carlotto's books." — Il Manifesto "The setting is beautifully—if grimly—realized. La dolce vita it ain't—but this is top-notch Mediterranean noir." — Kirkus Reviews