Deputy commissioner Caterina Ruggeri is a forty career policewoman from the Marche region in charge of the homicide section of the Ancona Police Headquarters. Together with Commissioner Sergio Adinolfi of Senigallia, an experienced "criminal profiler," she chases a psychopathic serial killer by interpreting strange traces scattered at the scenes of his crimes. A challenge in the dark for Dr. Ruggeri, who will have to investigate very close to her family circle.

We have reached the third adventure of Commissioner Caterina Ruggeri, the now well-known policewoman from the Marche region, beloved by her loyal readership. At her side is a new colleague, Commissioner Sergio Adinolfi of Senigallia, an expert "criminal profiler," with whom she must chase a psychopathic serial killer. At one point Caterina almost succumbs to her colleague's charms, but the progress of the story cannot leave room for love affairs. A challenge in the dark for Commissioner Caterina Ruggeri, who will find herself involved in the most introspective of her adventures. Indeed, she will discover that the murderer is closer to her than anyone dares to imagine, perhaps a member of her own family. She will have to dig into her past and her unconscious to get to the solution, but just when it seems to be within reach, here come new twists and turns to turn the tables. It seems that the psychopath enjoys creating embarrassing situations on purpose for our policewoman, who, pressed by the quaestor, magistrate and journalists, must quickly come to a plausible conclusion. Will she succeed? Let's leave that to the reader, who will happily rediscover characters already known from the Commissioner's past adventures and intriguing new characters who emerge in this new episode. Above all, however, the reading will open windows to reflect on some burning issues, particularly the dramas that more or less veiledly can be consumed even within ordinary families. And we are not just talking about violence or sexual abuse, but about all those conflicts and tensions that occur within the family, which children and adolescents often witness and which mark their lives forever, even if adults completely miss these dynamics. A warning, in short, to parents, to try to make their children live, as peaceful a childhood as possible, which will propel them into a calibrated and responsible adulthood. As usual, there is no shortage of references to local history and traditions, giving in certain sections a light and pleasant edge to the reading, creating a break from the description of grisly crimes. In this new investigation we find a Catherine, still impulsive yes, but perhaps a bit more reflective, more mature. After all, advancing age and family responsibilities create changes in behavior and character in each of us, and she certainly is not immune to that either. What matters is her intelligence and intuition, which, with the help of her collaborators and her usual dog, Fury, constantly lead her to successfully solve her investigations.