"The author occupies a niche similar to Erle Stanley Gardner and John Grisham. The genre is flourishing and Carofiglio has endowed his hero with discriminating taste for good food, but none of their relish for brutality. Violence is kept at arm's length." Times Literary Supplement

"As exacting and contemplative as any crime writer I can think of. Yet when the Italian defence lawyer isn't doing something, he is thinking, and what goes on in his doubt-stuffed head is always captivating. Washington Post

"Hard-boiled and sun-dried in equal parts. Where Philip Marlowe would be knocking back bourbon and listening to the snap of fist on the jaw, Guerrieri prefers Sicilian wine and Leonard Cohen." Financial Times

"The role of Guerrieri is to take on impossible cases that have little chance of success. His efforts to prove his client's innocence bring him into dangerous conflict with Mafia interests. Everything a legal thriller should be." The Times

"Written with brio, humour and skill. Guerrieri is a lawyer who struggles with his own demons as much as with his stressful caseload. It sometimes feels as though he's the only honest lawyer in Bari." Daily Mail