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Deputy commissioner Caterina Ruggeri is a forty career policewoman from the Marche region in charge of the homicide section of the Ancona Police Headquarters. Together with Commissioner Sergio Adinolfi of Senigallia, an experienced "criminal profiler," she chases a psychopathic serial killer by interpreting strange traces scattered at the scenes of his crimes. A challenge in the dark for Dr. Ruggeri, who will have to investigate very close to her family circle.
We have reached the third adventure of Commissioner Caterina Ruggeri, the now well-known policewoman from the Marche region, beloved by her loyal readership. At her side is a new colleague, Commissioner Sergio Adinolfi of Senigallia, an expert "criminal profiler," with whom she must chase a psychopathic serial killer. At one point Caterina almost succumbs to her colleague's charms, but the progress of the story cannot leave room for love affairs. A challenge in the dark for Commissioner Caterina Ruggeri, who will find herself involved in the most introspective of her adventures. Indeed, she will discover that the murderer is closer to her than anyone dares to imagine, perhaps a member of her own family. She will have to dig into her past and her unconscious to get to the solution, but just when it seems to be within reach, here come new twists and turns to turn the tables. It seems that the psychopath enjoys creating embarrassing situations on purpose for our policewoman, who, pressed by the quaestor, magistrate and journalists, must quickly come to a plausible conclusion. Will she succeed? Let's leave that to the reader, who will happily rediscover characters already known from the Commissioner's past adventures and intriguing new characters who emerge in this new episode. Above all, however, the reading will open windows to reflect on some burning issues, particularly the dramas that more or less veiledly can be consumed even within ordinary families. And we are not just talking about violence or sexual abuse, but about all those conflicts and tensions that occur within the family, which children and adolescents often witness and which mark their lives forever, even if adults completely miss these dynamics. A warning, in short, to parents, to try to make their children live, as peaceful a childhood as possible, which will propel them into a calibrated and responsible adulthood. As usual, there is no shortage of references to local history and traditions, giving in certain sections a light and pleasant edge to the reading, creating a break from the description of grisly crimes. In this new investigation we find a Catherine, still impulsive yes, but perhaps a bit more reflective, more mature. After all, advancing age and family responsibilities create changes in behavior and character in each of us, and she certainly is not immune to that either. What matters is her intelligence and intuition, which, with the help of her collaborators and her usual dog, Fury, constantly lead her to successfully solve her investigations.
Stefano Vignaroli, class of 1959, a veterinary doctor, married and father of two, has always worked in the small animal sector in the Province of Ancona. In addition to dogs, he is passionate about music, especially Jazz, so much so that, in his youth, he played alto Sax in various orchestras, improvised and otherwise, and in his town`s band. As a veterinarian employed by the local health authority, he often found himself collaborating with police and Carabinieri in investigations and operations concerning illicit trafficking in animals or incidents of animal abuse. The collaboration and close contact with the State Police Dog Units was essential in formulating the profile of the protagonist of his novels, Commissioner Caterina Ruggeri, who begins her career precisely as Head of the Dog Detachment. Thus was born the series of novels dedicated to the Marche Commissioner: "Delitti Esoterici" (Altromondo editore - Padua), "I Misteri di Villa Brandi" (MJM publishing house - Meda) and "Diario di uno Psicopatico" (Altromondo editore - Padua). A founding member and current president of the Cultural Association Euterpe APS, based in Jesi, which organizes cultural events and literary and poetic competitions both locally and nationally, he was a member of the judging panel for the short story competition "Tales on the Road," the final day of which was held in Cingoli (MC) in October 2016. He was a speaker at the conference on the History of Jesi, held in November 2016 at the Municipal Library "La Fornace" in Maiolati Spontini (AN), with a paper entitled "The Sack of Jesi - Political Motivations and Historical Context." Having completed the Commissario Caterina Ruggeri trilogy, and given his passion for history, especially local history, he then turned to the historical novel. Taking inspiration from some architectural elements of the city of Jesi and from events that actually occurred in history (see the Sacco di Jesi), the novel "The Shadow of the Bell Tower" was thus born. It can be considered the first in a series dedicated to a 16th-century printer, Bernardino Manuzi, and a young scholar of our times, Lucia Balleani, who, by rediscovering and archiving ancient texts, makes us relive together with her dark story from the past.
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