Vita nuova - Magdalen Nabb

When Marshal Guarnaccia is called upon to investigate the murder of a young woman, he is convinced that theres more to her family than meets the eye, and wonders if the girls father, Paoletti, might have had something to do with her death.Enlisting the help of a local journalist, Marshal Guarnaccias investigations draw him into the seedy underworld of Florence lap dancing, prostitution and the illegal, human trafficking of Eastern European women who are sold into the sex trade. But can he save these women before its too late? And what do they have to do with the killing of Daniela Paoletti? Distracted by the plight of these women and the murder investigation, Guarnaccia forgets about his own personal problems but its not long before he has choices to make should he seek help and risk exposing himself and possibly losing his job, or should he go it alone?

Magdalen Nabb was born in Lancashire in 1947. She moved to Florence in 1975 and pursued a dual career as crime writer and children's author. She died in August 2007.