Inspector Marco Moretti
Nestled on the Ligurian coast, Marello's cobbled streets, ancient cathedrals, and sunlit piazzas mask a town riddled with intrigue. Beneath its postcard-perfect facade lies a community grappling with smuggling rings, corrupt officials, and secrets buried as deeply as its history. At the centre of it all is Commissario Marco Moretti, a shrewd and determined detective returning to his hometown to battle its unseen shadows.
Moretti, who cut his teeth in Milan's Polizia di Stato chasing high-profile cases, has come back to Marello not just to enforce the law but to confront his own demons. His late father, a revered Commissario, casts a long shadow, and Marello's residents-many still loyal to the elder Moretti's memory-watch Marco's every move with sceptical eyes. Marello is more than a workplace; it's a legacy for him.
Paired with Ispettore Claudia Bernasconi, a Genoese investigator from the Carabinieri tasked with uncovering Marello's seedy underbelly, Moretti faces a town resistant to outsiders and the truths they unearth. Bernasconi's precise and unrelenting nature clashes with the town's insularity, and her partnership with Moretti proves both uneasy and unexpectedly effective.
First in the Series: The Shadows of Marello
The body of a wealthy developer washes up on the town's rocky shores. Officially, he was a visionary businessman hoping to modernise Marello with a controversial luxury resort. Unofficially, his dealings with Le Ombre, a clandestine smuggling network, and his fraught relationships with Marello's political elite suggest he was marked for death long before his body was discovered.
As Moretti and Bernasconi delve into the case, they uncover not just a murder but an elaborate web of corruption stretching far beyond Marello's borders. Every lead draws them deeper into a labyrinth of deceit, forcing Moretti to reckon with his late father's ties to the town's dark history. With Marello's fragile peace hanging in the balance, the pair must navigate treacherous waters where every ally is suspect, and every decision comes with a price.
