Praise for Grace Brophy:

"It's not often that an author's first book wins the coveted Tip of the Ice Pick Award."-BookPage

"Believable narrative twists combined with excellent characterization, rich dialogue and a finely depicted setting."-Publishers Weekly

"A terrific Italian historical police procedural."-Midwest Book Review

In the peaceful Umbrian village of Paradiso, the shocking murder and mutilation of an elderly German woman is barely credible. That is, until Inspector Alessandro Cenni of the State Police discovers that this retired cultural attach was not just a difficult tenant, but also a bisexual swinger with an African lover recently in residence, as well as a blackmailer. The dead woman grew up in occupied Venice, and some of her secrets may have been acquired that long ago, during World War II. And the bucolic village is not that innocent: It was the site of a famous, scandalous murder fifty years earlier.

Cenni's boss wants a scapegoat, and the young African lesbian is the obvious target, but Cenni cannot bring himself to close a case without solving the crime and bringing the actual perpetrator to justice.

Grace Brophy, a native of New Jersey, lived in Umbria for many years. She now resides in Maine. The Last Enemy, her debut novel, featuring Inspector Cenni, was published to acclaim.

"In Brophy's appealing if low-key second mystery to feature Insp. Alessandro Cenni (after 2007's The Last Enemy), the murder of Jarvinia Baudler in the Italian village of Paradiso creates a headache for German diplomat Dieter Reimann, who had been having an affair with the woman. Reimann's need to recover important papers muddies the waters for the inspector, who discovers that the victim was a bisexual drunk who used Reimann to falsify passports, lived beyond her means and was the recipient of threatening letters. As Cenni sifts through all this intriguing information about the deceased, he comes across a link to unsolved murders from 1978 and possible blackmail involving Reimann's wife. A brief shift of scene to Venice to investigate leads from Baudler's youth doesn't add much to the plot, which unfortunately builds to a resolution that will strike many readers as a letdown after the elaborate setup." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In the peaceful Umbrian village of Paradiso, the shocking murder and mutilation of an elderly German woman is barely credible. Inspector Alessandro Cenni's boss wants a scapegoat, but he cannot bring himself to close a case without solving the crime and bringing the actual perpetrator to justice. Soho Crime

Grace Brophy grew up in New Jersey and now divides her time between New York, Maine, and a village in Umbria. She is the author of The Last Enemy, the first novel in the Inspector Cenni series.