Set in Florence in 1966 during the devastating flood which destroyed much of the beautiful city, Inspector Franco Bordelli is in charge of the baffling case of a missing 13 year old boy. Frustrated by the lack of progress & his knowledge that there are no leads, Bordelli, another flawed & disillusioned cop in the twilight of his career, spends a good deal of the plot involved in unrelated activities while his faithful underlings doggedly continue with seemingly fruitless stake-outs. I liked Bordelli as a character & Vichy certainly paints a very atmospheric portrait of Florence, particularly the effects on day to day life caused by the catastrophic flood. The book also has many historic & political references about the era. It was a very unusual crime story in that we learn of the initial crime on page 1, and of its gruesome aftermath soon after. But, until the very end of the book, it is more about their inability to solve the crime, than a page-turning, action-packed thriller. Was there too much about Bordelli’s personal life & his internal musings? I’m not sure.