Wendy reviews books set in Italy. For more articles like this one, subscribe to her Substack channel Italy Writers and get in touch via Sunflower Publishing.
Pastries first, heroics later.
That’s George Zammit’s order of business, and frankly I respect it. The Maltese police superintendent returns for the fourth instalment of AJ Aberford’s six-book series, and this time the trouble is Sicilian, volcanic and very much awake.
His superior’s niece has vanished in Catania. She’s an environmentalist, last seen protesting against fracking on the slopes of Mount Etna, and her uncle wants George on the case. George would happily stay home. His wife has opinions. He goes anyway.
A City Running on Lava
Catania, in Aberford’s telling, stands on the brink of global fame. Etna’s endless energy is set to make it the first city on earth with a net-zero carbon footprint. A bold ambition. Also, as you’d expect, a lucrative business opportunity.
Organised crime got there first.
The clans have tapped the volcano’s power and grown rich on the proceeds, and now rival outfits are circling, each keen for a slice. Alliances shift by the chapter.
Meanwhile, up on the flanks, robed priests and monks drift through ancient lava tunnels. They belong to a cult devoted to Mother Etna, convinced the mountain offers renewal and rebirth. As the eruption builds, they see an invitation.
Everyone else sees a countdown.
Our Man in Catania
Here’s the real pleasure of the book. Zammit is gloriously ordinary. A little round in the middle, fond of his pastries, answerable to a formidable wife at home. Reluctant by temperament. Sharp by instinct.
That pairing does a lot of work. He’s someone you’d share a coffee with, yet when the stakes climb he thinks quickly, reads people well and improvises with genuine flair. You believe in him, which matters enormously when he’s facing down a crime syndicate and a mountain at the same time.
He also has a deadline. His daughter’s wedding looms back in Malta, and he’s promised to be there.
In one piece, ideally.
Faces That Keep Changing
Aberford juggles a sizable cast, and many of his characters wear two or three masks across the story. An ally in one scene turns into a double agent in the next. A couple of these reversals made me gasp out loud on the sofa.
Each figure is drawn with such precision that you always know exactly who’s who, whichever side they happen to be on this week.
Then there’s Etna herself. Aberford clearly knows his volcanology and shares it generously, so every tremor carries weight. The tension rises in step with the magma, a neat piece of narrative engineering.
One More Chapter
I began with a measured few chapters each evening. By the halfway point I’d abandoned restraint altogether and was reading well past midnight.
Fire in the Mountain is a thriller about trust, loss and the price of power, played out on Sicily’s most volatile stage. Cult, clan and crater all compete for George’s attention, and he gives each of them his best.
My advice? Start with book one and work your way up the mountain.
This article was adapted from my original review published on Sunflower Publishing.
