Bandit Love

In this lean, taut crime novel from Italian author Carlotto (The Fugitive), a burglary at the University of Padua sets off a series of related crimes that entangle ex-con turned PI Marco Buratti (aka "the Alligator") and his two partners. Buratti initially declines a prospective client's request to investigate the theft, which netted its perpetrators a cache of illegal drugs stored at the university's Institute of Legal Medicine. Things go south after Buratti decides to accept the offer, and the client, known only as "the guy with the ring," winds up dead. Two years later, the ring shows up in the car of the missing girlfriend of one of Buratti's partners. Complications ensue after the search for the woman forces the detectives to revisit the narcotics theft. Andrea Camilleri fans looking for something a little darker will be rewarded. (Oct.)