Carlo Fruttero – författare

In an exclusive resort in a dark, threatening pine forest on the coast of Tuscany, the rich and famous are gathering at their second homes for Christmas. On the morning that a husband and wife from one of the heavily-guarded villas go missing, a certain Count Delaude is washed up, battered to death, on the seashore.

Set in Venice, over three days in winter. She, a Roman princess, has come to seek undervalued paintings; he is a strange, strikingly erudite tour guide. A touching love story and the revelation of criminal shenanigans in the Venetian art world. But, at the core, the deeply intriguing mystery of the guide's true identity.

Siena is feverishly preparing for the Palio, a horse race dating back to the Middle Ages held every summer in the centre of the town. Lawyer Enzo Maggione and his wife are unwittingly caught up in the maelstrom of plots, counterplots and bribes surrounding the race, including the violent death of Puddu, the Palio's most celebrated jockey.