Kill the King

The bloody, convoluted conclusion to Dazieri’s serial killer trilogy (after 2018’s Kill the Angel) finds kidnapping victim Dante Torre still missing and former deputy captain Colomba Caselli recovering in the countryside near Portico, Italy, where the local carabinieri drag her into a double homicide case. During her investigation, Colomba discovers clues that enable her to single-handedly locate and rescue Dante. Colomba and Dante suspect that his kidnapper was involved in the double homicide and other murders that follow, but they also come to believe that another killer is at work. Even with Dante’s Holmes-like ability to put together disparate facts, and the on-again, off-again help of intelligence services and police, the pair remain behind the killers and their accomplices. Dazieri ups the ante by connecting the psychopaths to multinational security and pharmaceutical companies wanting to profit on inhumane “research.” The bizarre final reveal is a bit over-the-top. This isn’t for the faint of heart and runs too long, but fans of procedurals, conspiracy theories, or serial killer thrillers will be well satisfied. Agent: Laura Grandi, Grandi e Associati (Italy) (May)