A Walk In The Dark by Gianrico Carofiglio (translated by Howard Curtis)

I would like to thank Anne from Random Things Tours for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Bitter Lemon Press

Published – Out Now

Price – £7.99 paperback £4.74 Kindle eBook

When Martina accuses her ex-boyfriend - the son of a powerful local judge - of assault and battery, no witnesses can be persuaded to testify on her behalf and one lawyer after another refuses to represent her. Guido Guerrieri knows the case could bring his legal career to a premature and messy end, but he cannot resist the appeal of a hopeless cause. Nor deny his attraction to Sister Claudia, the young woman in charge of the shelter where Martina is living, who shares his love of martial arts and his virulent hatred of injustice.

The legal thriller explores the power of our systems to give us justice. Are the scales balanced perfectly or has someone got a thumb on one scale to get the result that best works for themselves. Who works the system and who works for it? Our media is so interested in UK and US portrayals we forget other countries have their own unique justice systems and in Gianrico Carofiglio’s skilful A Walk In The Dark expertly translated by Howard Curtis we get to experience Italy’s system and with it issues of corruption, sexual assaults and deciding can you fight the system when the odds are against you?

Guido Guerrieri is a lawyer more used to representing the criminal who is guilty but increasingly is struggling to have a completely clear conscience as he heads into his forties. Very aware of his place in the game he is surprised how much he wants a case that most lawyers would walk away from. Martina is bringing stalking and assault against her ex who just so happens to be the son of very influential judge. He takes a case on representing Martina and allies himself with the Prosecution office. He knows the defence lawyers will use every dirty legal (and sometimes not so legal) trick in the book so Guido prepares Martine and also has to find within himself the way to crack a difficult case where there will be no other witnesses and one of the most aggressive lawyers in Italy as his foe.

I was really impressed with this gritty legal thriller. This is a novel exploring sexual assault and there will be mention of various crimes though none exceptionally graphic that help show the issues surrounding bringing such cases to court. In many ways we recognise the attempts to besmirch victims and destroy reputations as this matches our own flawed system. As Guido starts his case the array of tricks used are explained and we get to see them unleashed to try and destroy Martine. Here who pays for the best lawyers is more important than who is the credible witness. Happily, we see Guido’s ability to fight back and with Martine’s strength to carry on and a mysterious nun named Sister Claudia who runs a safe house. This unusual triumvirate fight for justice in a very dangerous situation and it is clear Martine’s ex is not a man who likes to be crossed so a fair outcome is not a certainty.

Around this fascinating plot is Guido himself an unusual character. He is not a lone maverick but a man trying to find himself. He has a stable relationship and fights this constant urge to say the wrong thing or get into trouble. Yet he is also afraid of sharing his inner emotions and let down his walls with his lover. Carofiglio makes all of this come across in Guido’s world-weary voice – a man just trying to do the right thing. He isn’t the typical alpha male lawyer full of snark and fire but a more reserved and yet kinder man willing to take people on trust and do what is right. An unusual sensitive lead who carries a sense that he could easily fall into darkness. He may need this case won just as much as Martine does and in meeting an old school friend he is starting to feel life passing him by very quickly.

I really enjoyed the mix of legal theatre and examinations of approaches trial lawyers use. Unusually we find out here there is both a Prosecution and Guido actin for Martine as plaintiff. Carofiglio explains this without excessive info-dumping and we get a sense of small trials at the coal face rather than the usual media circus we tend to get in UK/US legal dramas. It gives the story a sense of reality and carries constant authenticity (not surprising given the author’s own background in the profession).

This is a very sombre but pacy intelligent legal thriller not afraid to cast a harsh light on the system and its weaknesses but also to show there may still be some who crave a just outcome. A fascinating entry and I will be looking for more from Carofiglio in the future.