Three children are massacred in their beds. The crushed corpse of their mother is discovered in a dockside warehouse. Hanno Stiffeniis, a Prussian magistrate, goes to investigate, but everything begins to unwind. Serge Lavedrine, a criminologist attached to the invading French army, steps in to resolve the mystery, and Stiffeniis is packed off to collect the husband from a remote fortress on the Russian border. But the husband, Bruno Gottewald, is dead and buried - killed while out on field manoeuvres. In less than a week the entire Gottewald family has been wiped off the face of the earth. A tragic coincidence? A military conspiracy involving Prussian troops? Or are the French using the massacre to expand their power?
Michael Gregorio
Behind the pen-name, Michael Gregorio, there are actually two writers, a husband and wife, who live in Spoleto, a small town in central Italy. Daniela De Gregorio was born there, while Michael G. Jacob hails originally from Liverpool, UK.
Daniela teaches philosophy and history; Mike used to teach English and the history of photography.
"Our first published novel, "Critique of Criminal Reason" (2006), was set in French-occupied East Prussia during the terrible winter of 1804. A young magistrate, Hanno Stiffeniis - a former pupil of the philosopher, Immanuel Kant - is sent to Königsberg when a string of bizarre killings provoke terror in the city...
We are fascinated by the nineteenth century, the explosive clash of new and old ideas. Fortunately, a lot of readers seemed to share our interest. The novel was translated into 22 languages, including Chinese, Russian, Japanese (we love the cover!), and Taiwanese. Playboy magazine declared "Critique" to be one of the 20 best books of 2006. We were amazed!
"Days of Atonement," the second investigation featuring Hanno Stiffeniis followed on in 2007. The novel explores the murderous consequences of the imposition of the Napoleonic laws on life in Prussia in 1807. The French Revolutionary declared that men and women of every colour, race and creed were equal. In theory, it was true. But even then, in early nineteenth-century Prussia, the Jews were a special case...
The latest in our continuing series of historical thrillers is "A Visible Darkness." Hanno Stiffeniis is ordered by the French to put an end to the killing of women who work on the remote Baltic shores, collecting precious amber. Published for the first time in April, 2009, by St Martins Press in the USA, the Faber edition of the novel has just been released in England."
All three books received starred reviews from Publishers' World.
Website:
www.michaelgregorio.it
