MORE FROM CRIMINI

We really do have to thank Bitter Lemon Press for bringing us Crimini a fine collection of Italian noir. I have only read the first three stories but even if the others don't reach this standard the book deserves a place in the collection of all crime fiction fans.

Niccolo Ammaniti and Antonio Manzini with You Are My Treasure Chest give us an amusing crime caper story about a drug addled cosmetic surgeon. The story may not be entirely politically correct as it concerns a "boob" job that has unfortunate complications for both the surgeon and the patient.

The surgeon Paolo Bocchi had done a Master's in maxillofacial reconstruction in Lyon and he was nothing like the excellent maxillofacial surgeons I knew during my career. But I did know an eye surgeon once.............better not go there.

Carlo Lucarelli's The Third Shot involves the shooting of two Albanians and the suspicions of an attractive policewoman Lara about the sequence of the shots. There are a number of twists and turns in this tale of corruption and fear that will keep you guessing.

A Series of Misunderstandings by Andrea Camilleri shows how the master of the Italian detective story can produce darker noir just as good as his lighter Montalbano mysteries. It is also a warning never to answer a phone in Palermo.