Meh. ( )

Marcus is an amnesiac member of a shadowy order of priests that investigate crimes gleaned from the confessions of evil-doers. The Church disapproves of them so he must conduct his activities in secret. Sandra Vega is a crime scene photographer mourning the recent death of her photojournalist husband David. David fell to his death in a deserted building in Rome. So why did his last message to her say that he was in Oslo? Sandra is driven to head to Rome and investigate, encountering Marcus in the process, as well as an Interpol agent who knows about David's final days.

The plot thickens with the near-death of a man who is found to be in possession of a momento taken by a serial killer years before; found by the victim's sister, Monica. Monica resists the temptation to take revenge and saves his life. Marcus takes an interest when a connection arises to a missing person case that he is investigating.

There are plenty of clever twists to Carrisi's plot, but I found the book unsatisfying overall. I rate his Mila Vasquez books more highly, because Mila is a more interesting and empathetic protagonist than the somewhat bland and predictable Sandra. The key theme of the plot, the penitenziere was just a whole lot too Dan Brown-y for my taste. Finally, I'm at a loss to understand why the publisher thought this title to be more appropriate than The Court of Souls, which is the direct translation of its original title, and far more apt - the revised title made the book more confusing in my mind - who were these lost girls supposed to be? ( )

Roma, la ciudad eterna, luminosa y sublime, tiene también su reverso oscuro. Entre sus calles más antiguas se esconden los enigmas y misterios que permiten reconstruir su verdadera historia. En esta Roma oculta existen ciertos lugares marcados por el tiempo que custodian los secretos que no quieren ser descubiertos. Con la desaparición de Lara, una joven y excepcional estudiante, empezarán a salir a la luz hechos terribles que sucedieron en el pasado, casos archivados sin resolver. Alguien está trazando el mapa de ciertos crímenes que parecían destinados al olvido, pero… ¿Quiénes están detrás de todo esto? ¿Qué persiguen? Puede que las respuestas escapen a la imaginación de la mente humana.

I libri di Carrisi scorrono abbastanza bene. Ha uno stile e un modo di costruire la storia che invogliano a procedere senza sbattertelo troppo in faccia come fa Joel Dicker.

Tuttavia devi sempre essere pronto a una sospensione dell'incredulità a volte un po'... acrobatica? Le sette super-segrete vaticane mi lasciano abbastanza fredda dai tempi di Dan Brown. Alcune cose non vengono completamente spiegate, lasciando la fastidiosa sensazione di esseri perso qualcosa per strada durante la lettura. ( )

Intricate mystery