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A masterpiece of Italian noir…

He’s followed him for a lifetime, but Autunnale has always been a step ahead of him. Until now. Until the start of this huge, desperate investigation in which Bramard needs his disciple and longstanding friend Vincenzo Arcadipane more than ever.

Corso Bramard is a silent, reserved man. He has a restrained elegance, like the mountains around Turin. He was the youngest chief of police in Italy, a talented detective. Then his wife and baby daughter were kidnapped and killed by the serial killer he was hunting. Since then, having left the police force, he drags himself through lonely days and nights spent climbing in the mountains without any support, hoping to put a foot wrong and fall. The only thing that stops him putting the past behind him are the letters that Autunnale – as the murderer calls himself – has been sending him for the last twenty years.

The psychological game playing out between them has reached a stalemate. Then Autunnale makes a small mistake, enough for Bramard to rediscover a part of the man he once was. Arcadipane, who has taken over Bramard’s job, and the irritable officer Isa Mancini help him to open the case once more. But when they come to reckon with justice, a truth more complicated and dangerous than they had imagined awaits them.

Praise for Bramard’s Case

‘Much more than a thriller, but never less … Davide Longo proves once again with Bramard’s Case that he is currently one of the most exciting Italian authors.’
– Jutta Person, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

‘Bramard’s Case is an excellent read: a sophisticated, introspective, complex noir … The setting is dark, and there’s a Piedmontese chill that casts a bluish shadow over everything … The plot is elaborate and some elements remain a mystery – for, as Longo seems to say, it is not only impossible to know everything, but, deep down, it is not even really desirable.’
– Giovanni Dozzini, Europa Quotidiano

‘In short, gripping chapters, Davide Longo unfolds the story of the ex-superintendent and plays skilfully with the basic structure of the thriller.’
– Maike Albath, Die Welt

‘Davide Longo writes with an old-fashioned elegance … in the way he describes places (above all the hills and mountains), people (and their emotions) and in the way he can hold the reader’s attention, not through twists and turns but simply telling a good story.’
– Giovanni Ziccardi, Il Fatto Quotidiano

‘Hypnotic in its gentle rhythm, it draws the reader in, beguiles him, and drags him along with it right to the very end.’
– Valentina Moretto, Gli Amanti Dei Libri

‘An outstanding novel.’
– Franz Haas, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

‘Sparsely written … but populated with lively characters, this novel is a credit to Longo and translator Silvester Mazzarella. Longo relies on topography, real sites and places and vividly drawn characters to make this book whole and worthy of a successor in English.’
– Judith Sullivan, Shots