Kill the King

Kill the King is the final volume in Sandrone Dazieri’s Caselli and Torre trilogy. After a bombing in Venice left Colomba Caselli injured and Dante Torre missing, she left the police and retreated to the countryside. For fifteen months she led a solitary life filled with guilt and wondering what happened to Dante. Then Tommy entered her life.

Colombia found Tommy hiding in her shed, his shirt covered in blood. He had a bracelet that identified him as autistic with contact information. When she returns him home she discovers that his parents were murdered. These are only the first of many deaths as Caselli’s life spirals out of control. Suspicion falls on Colomba and finding Dante becomes a priority to help clear her name and find the killer.

Dante was one of many children who was taken and imprisoned by the Father. These children were abused and isolated over a number of years. Colomba and Dante worked together to find the Father and he is now dead. Tommy exhibits some of the behaviors of the Father’s other victims and Colomba realizes that someone has taken over his position. After finding Dante close to death, his recovery becomes her priority so that they can stop the murders and catch the King.

While Colomba was difficult to like in the beginning, once she re-teamed with Dante they worked well as a team. The actions of the Father and the King are both horrifying and heartbreaking and Dazieri ends his trilogy with a twist that is jaw-dropping. I would like to thank NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for providing this book for my review.

This was a fantastic read. It was suspensful, the literary devices worked, it was amazing how the plot was laid out and the character development was superb! A friend had recommended the series and I jumped into the last volume. Sorry I did get n the other hand I’m so glad I read it.

Dark And Disturbing. I walked into this third book in a series without having read the first two, and while the rapid introduction of characters at the beginning is a bit overwhelming at times when doing this, and there are very defintely spoilers for previous stories here, it *is* possible to follow and enjoy this story by itself, even if you haven't read the previous two books. That noted, this features an all too real look at the amazing power of Autism... and some of the darker aspects of what neurotypicals have subjected Autistics and other neurodivergents to over the years. Awesomely, the various Autistic abilities shown are based in reality - including discussion of the future of humanity - but sadly, so are the various abuses discussed. The book has a "Return of the King" type vibe for a bit after the 75% or so mark, where it feels like what should have been the end of the tale actually isn't, and the story drags out a bit... but then it gets a bit better in its closing pages and shows the point of why it didn't end there. To the level of almost being an extra novella or perhaps short story after the natural end of the tale. Interesting decisions at many levels of how it is divided up, and very much recommended.