Affairs of State (Italian trilogy, #1)

Twenty years after the events of 'Relative Values', Englishman, Paul and his Italian wife, Rosa have been living happily in Florence for nineteen years when a dinner invite to Rosa's younger sister leads them into a dangerous world where political corruption and organised crime meet.
'He thought of all the times he'd despaired at the lack of real action being taken against the general level of self-interest, exploitation and corruption in Italian public life, and railed against the left's inability to stop squabbling amongst itself and do something concrete about putting things right. '
As in his previous novel, Phil Whitney has rooted his story in real historical events: there are links to the P2 conspiracy, the Neapolitan Camorra, the Calabrian N'drangheta and a discredited parliamentary committee which attempted to smear leading figures in the country's left-wing and centre-left parties.

Auteur

Although born in Lancashire, I grew up in Derbyshire before graduating in Italian and History of Art at the University of Leeds. Several years in Italy teaching English and writing travel guides were followed by seven years as a Chartered Accountant and then eighteen years teaching English and Media Studies back in England. During those twenty-five years, I spent as much time as possible in Italy, soaking up the culture and getting ideas for stories. In the summer of 2014 I left teaching and my wife agreed to support me while I got my writing career back on track. Since then, I have divided my time between the two countries and never regretted the decision to concentrate on writing.