Jean-Claude Izzo's ... growing literary renown and huge sales are leading to a recognizable new trend in continental fiction: the rise of the sophisticated Mediterranean thriller. ... Caught between pride and crime, racism and fraternity, tragedy and light, messy urbanization and generous beauty, the city for detective Fabio Montale is a Utopia, an ultimate port of call for exiles. There, he is torn between fatalism and revolt, despair and sensualism. - The Economist This first installment in the legendary "Marseilles Trilogy" sees Fabio Montale turning his back on a police force marred by corruption and racism and taking the fight against the mafia into his own hands. Jean-Claude Izzo achieved astoundingly rapid success with his "Marseilles Trilogy". He died in Marseilles in 2000 at the age of 55.