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For those wary of crime books in translation - or of Italian crime fiction - this is the book to blow away your prejudices. It's a fine courtroom thriller with plenty of devious backstage action, and has one of the most credible and engaging heroes in the genre. The somewhat maverick lawyer Guido Guerrieri takes on the case of a frightened young woman who accuses her rich boyfriend of violence, stalking and worse. But the slimeball is well connected - too well connected, in that his father is a senior judge who no sensible lawyer wants to offend. On the girlfriend's side is a nun who wears black leather, while on Guido's is his warm and protective, almost live-in mistress from the flat upstairs. Against them is… well, just about everybody. Mature and reflective as this book is, it whips along briskly towards a perhaps inevitable climax. And if it sounds as if it might lack action, bear in mind that Guido boxes for fun and the glamorous nun is an expert in martial arts. It says much for Italian readers that this stayed in their bestseller lists for eight months.