Paperback: In Ostia, a depressed coastal settlement twenty miles from the powerful and corrupt city of Rome, a mighty local crime family, the Mafia, corrupt politicians, and new rabid criminal elements battle each other for a billion-dollar payoff.
During the final days of Silvio Berlusconi's reign, a massive development proposal that will turn Ostia into a gambling paradise, a Las Vegas on the Mediterranean, is winding its way through the Italian legislature thanks to the sponsorship of politicians in the pay of crime syndicates with vested interests. In short, it is business as usual in the Italian capital.
But a vicious gang of local thugs loyal to nobody but themselves is insisting on a bigger cut than agreed upon. They argue their case quite convincingly, but the Mafia and their political puppets are not likely to back down without a fight.
De Cataldo and Bonini have created a compelling, provocative portrait of contemporary Rome - a city prey to pitiless criminal factions and political opportunism. A fast-paced and atmospheric work of crime fiction, Suburra (2017, translation) rivals the best novels by writers such as Denis Lehane, Richard Price, and George Pelecanos, and successful series like The Wire and The Night Of.
Suburra was released as a Netflix original series in 2017.
About the authors: Carlo Bonini is a staff writer at the Italian national daily, La Repubblica.
Giancarlo De Cataldo is the author of the bestselling novel, Romanzo Criminale, an essayist, the author of numerous TV screenplays, and a judge on the circuit court of Rome.
Suburra is translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar. Antony Shugaar's translations for Europa Editions include eight books in the Commissario Ricciardi series by Maurizio de Giovanni.
Rating: 5/5
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