Total Chaos

Jean-Claude Izzo's... growing literary renown and huge sales are leading to a recognizable new trend in continental fiction: the rise of the sophisticated Mediterranean thriller.... Caught between pride and crime, racism and fraternity, tragedy and light, messy urbanization and generous beauty, the city for detective Fabio Montale is a Utopia, an ultimate port of call for exiles. There, he is torn between fatalism and revolt, despair and sensualism. - The Economist This first installment in the legendary "Marseilles Trilogy" sees Fabio Montale turning his back on a police force marred by corruption and racism and taking the fight against the mafia into his own hands. Jean-Claude Izzo achieved astoundingly rapid success with his "Marseilles Trilogy". He died in Marseilles in 2000 at the age of 55.