The Italian Game

Vera Vala

Original title: Italialainen peli

Author: Vera Vala

Published: 2022

Publisher: WSOY

Genre: Crime & Suspense

Pages: 414

Part of a series: Salla Kotka series

Reading material:

English sample & synopsis, series presentation

“The heart of darkness is in the human mind.”

The Greater Milan area lives in fear. A mysterious stalker is terrorizing people, and a serial killer called the Harlequin is picking their victims, branding them with jewelry. Are the two cases connected?

Salla Kotka, starting her career as a forensic psychologist, gets pulled into the threatening chain of events as she begins working for a defense attorney. Their client is the suspected serial killer, and Salla needs to help the defense uncover the truth. But, in the end, does truth carry any value in the courtroom?

To make matters worse, her new job as a profiler seems like a battlefield, mined by suspicious colleagues and hostile clients. While Salla has to examine the darkest sides in others, she is also trying to come to terms with her own past. Can she trust anyone, even herself?

The title has both psychological and societal depth, which make the novel a fully rounded one. [It] for example examines the differences between the Italian and Finnish culture. [–] In my opinion the psychological expertise of the author is especially rewarding.

– Kirjakaapin kummitus blog

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

About author

Vera Vala

Vera Vala’s roots are in Finnish forests, but her soul belongs to Italy, where she has been living for over 25 years. She has an infinite thirst for knowledge that has taken her to study various academic subjects from Physics to Assyriology and Romance Languages, and the information acquired during those years has been useful as background research for her novels.

Vera’s adventurous spirit has taken her from diving with sharks while living in Seychelles to rafting in Italian Alps and exploring the shadier parts of her former hometown, Rome: the diverse experiences have come in handy while creating intriguing plot twists.

Currently, Vera lives with her family in Milan where she is studying to become a clinical psychologist with a special interest in Forensic Psychology. Vera creates novel scenes in her mind while cooking Italian meals, and she loves slow chess games and meditation.

Bibliography


2023, Crime & Suspense

Vera Vala

The Sicilian Defense


2022, Crime & Suspense

Vera Vala

The Italian Game