Solea [Paperback]

In Izzo's taut concluding volume to his memorable Marseilles trilogy (after 2006's Chourmo), former cop Fabio Montale is still struggling to find a purpose in the wake of his leaving the police force. Despite his pessimism, Montale allows himself to hope again after he falls hard for a woman named Sonia he meets in a bar; noir fans will be less than surprised that the flicker of romantic promise is quickly extinguished—in this case by a Mafia hit man targeting Montale and people he cares for to get him to divulge the location of his journalist friend, Babette, who's written an exposé detailing mob links with politicians and the police. Babette's sophisticated analysis of organized crime's effect on the working classes, plus Izzo's unsparing treatment of his cynical hero, elevate this far above most Mafia-themed fiction. (June)
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The concluding volume of the late Izzo's Marseilles trilogy remains utterly uncompromising in its allegiance to the classic noir worldview. Fabio Montale, the embittered former cop, sees nothing but misery in his own future and in the future of his beloved city, but he still tries to protect those he loves from similar fates. Ah, but in a noir world, any spot of tenderness is a point of vulnerability, and sure enough, the Italian Mafiosi, desperate to silence Montale's former lover, investigative journalist Babette, target Fabio's friends as the way to pry from him the information they need. There is a eulogistic tone to this novel, not only because it is Izzo's last, but because he seems to be saying farewell to possibility, farewell even to the idea of constructing a separate peace out of harm's way from the world. A Jim Thompson–like ending—served with Izzo's no-frills lyricism—pretty well seals the deal: "Could you draw the curtains on our life? I'm tired." The sun shines brightly in Marseilles, but Izzo's Mediterranean noir is as dark as noir can get. Ott, Bill

"Izzo digs deep into what makes men weep."-Time Out New York

The third and final installment in the remarkable Marseilles Trilogy (including Total Chaos and Chourmo), Solea continues Jean-Claude Izzo's distinctive brand of vibrant crime writing, skillfully evoking a time and place that have captured the hearts and imaginations of readers the world over. Marseilles' simmering issues of race, politics, organized crime, and big business come to a rolling boil. Ex-cop, loner, and would-be bon vivant, Fabio Montale is back. His heartfelt cry against the criminal forces devastating his beloved Marseilles provides the touching conclusion to a trilogy that epitomizes the aspirations and ideals of the Mediterranean noir movement.

Jean-Claude Izzo achieved immediate success with his Marseilles Trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea). In addition to this trilogy, his two novels The Lost Sailors, The Sun of the Dying, and one collection of short stories, Living Tires, enjoyed great critical and popular acclaim. Izzo died in 2000 at the age of fifty-five.