'A stylish policeman with a lively intelligence' Daily Mail

Death is in the air at one of Milan's great fashion houses. As a new collection is unveiled, and the wealthy rub shoulders with the glamorous, owner Cristiana O'Brian escapes upstairs to discover the strangled body of her servant slumped on her bed - a single orchid by his side.

When Inspector Di Vicenzi is called in to investigate, the brilliant detective is puzzled; why is Cristiana behaving so suspiciously? And what is her estranged exhusband doing there? As two further corpses appear, each accompanied by an orchid, Di Vicenzi must see through dirty tricks and slippery clues in order to uncover the real killer.



Augusto De Angelis (1888-1944) was an Italian novelist and journalist, most famous for his series of detective novels featuring Commissario Carlo De Vincenzi. His cultured protagonist was enormously popular in Italy, but the Fascist government of the time considered him an enemy, and during the Second World War he was imprisoned by the authorities. Shortly after his release he was beaten up by a Fascist activist and died from his injuries. The Murdered Banker and The Hotel of the Three Roses are also available from Pushkin Vertigo.



A stylish policeman with a lively intelligence



As humane as Maigret, as romantic as Marlowe, as intellectual as Philo Vance, yet stubbornly Italian



De Vincenzi, is an investigator who doesn't stop at the material evidence, but digs with uncommon passion in the psyche of his characters, and the atmosphere in which they live and operate... a rare delight



An intriguing story ideal for readers who like good, old-fashioned mysteries