A week or two ago we brought you a review of one of the classics of Italian crime fiction, That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana, written 65 years ago. If stories set in Italia in the 1930s take your fancy, then keep an eye out for I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio de Giovanni. This book has been translated into English and, published by Hersilia Press, it’s due out next month in paperback and digital formats.

Entitled Il Senso del Dolore in its original language, this is the first of de Giovanni’s Commissario Ricciardi novels to be translated into English. It’s set in Naples in 1931 and begins with the murder of Maestro Vezzi, a famous tenor who’s found dead in his theatre dressing room. Ricciardi soon discovers that Vezzi was arrogant and widely hated, but was also a centrepiece at the theatre, drawing the audiences and thereby making it viable. As he investigates, the detective must answer many questions, not just about the killing but about himself.

Like the sound of it? There’s no need to gamble by preordering a copy. You can check out a sample of the book by clicking here. If you decide to buy the book, do let us know what you think of it.