The Lost Girls of Rome

“Carrisi's literary thriller draws readers into a labyrinth of evil. . . .A powerful psychological drama." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A grieving young widow, seeking answers to her husband's death, becomes entangled in an investigation steeped in the darkest mysteries of Rome. Sandra Vega, a forensic analyst with the Roman police department, mourns deeply for a marriage that ended too soon. A few months ago, in the dead of night, her husband, an up-and-coming journalist, plunged to his death at the top of a high-rise construction site. The police ruled it an accident. Sandra is convinced it was anything but. Launching her own inquiries, Sandra finds herself on a dangerous trail, working the same case that she is convinced led to her husband's murder. An investigation which is deeply entwined with a series of disappearances that has swept the city, and brings Sandra ever closer to a centuries-old secret society that will do anything to stay in the shadows."Reminiscent of books like Carlos Ruiz Zafón's classic The Shadow of the Wind, Carrisi's work has a dreamy, other worldly feel about it; the prose is literate, lyrical, knowing." —Mystery Scene"Masterful. . . . Carrisi . . . build[s] suspense to almost unbearable (and perhaps supernatural) levels, all the way to a truly surprising ending." —BookPage

From Booklist

A secret sect worthy of a Dan Brown novel, the penitenzieri are a group of rogue Catholic clergymen who archive the admissions made in the confessional and then mete out justice on their own. When some of Rome’s most unrepentant killers are suddenly struck down, it seems that this centuries-old network is coming out of the shadows. Could this be the story that forensic analyst Sandra Vega’s journalist-husband was working on when he died? The brusque and mysterious Interpol agent Schalber certainly seems to think so. A race against the clock to find one killer’s final victim keeps the story moving, but Carrisi loses momentum with the introduction of a secondary fabulist plot regarding a transformationist. This multilayered thriller was a best-seller in the author’s native Italy, but, while it may attract attention here, readers are likely to come away something short of satisfied. --Karen Keefe

About the Author

Donato Carrisi studied law and criminology before he began working as a writer for television. The Whisperer, Carrisi's first novel, won five international literary prizes, has been sold in nearly twenty countries, and has been translated into languages as varied as French, Danish, Hebrew and Vietnamese. Carrisi lives in Rome.READER BIOFor over 25 years, David Doersch has delighted audiences with various roles on stage, film, and recordings. Mr. Doersch's has worked some of the most prestigious theatres in America, including the Guthrie Theatre, The Dallas Theatre Center, The American Players Theatre, and The Virginia Stage Company. He has recorded dozens of cases for Audio Case Files, worked in film and TV, and has toured as a musician.

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