Profondo Nero

If you enjoy mysteries and whodunits, Italian style, then you will certainly enjoying reading Profondo Nero: Mattei, De Mauro, Pasolini. Che cosa sapevano? Perché dovevano morire? (Profondo Nero: Mattei, De Mauro, Pasolini. What did they know? Why did they have to die?). Written by two prominent journalists, Giuseppe Lo Bianco and Sandra Rizza. This book looks at three murders that take place in a span of 25 years: Enrico Mattei, Mauro de Mauro and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

So what do these three men and their deaths (or murders!) have in common?

All of them are believed to have been killed to cover up some massive fraud or secret in Italy. The book looks at the evidence in each case and does it best to connect the dots to come up with the possible killer or the financier of the killings (I won't tell you who so as not to spoil the book!).

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book was how "innocuous" at first these crimes appear. Mattei died in a plane crash that was deemed an "accident" at first; Mauro de Mauro disappeared, believed to have been eliminated because of his writings about the mafia; and Pasolini was initially believed to have been killed by a young man that he picked up on the street who then tried to refuse his advances. Whoever orchestrated these killings, especially in the case of Mattei's death, did a good job at "covering up" any wrong-doing and doing their best to suppress any investigations.

For years, people have been trying hard to get these deaths investigated, especially the death of Pasolini, whose young killer is believed to have been paid or coerced to confess but who medical examiners believe would have been incapable of inflecting the kinds of wounds as well as orchestrating to the beating and robbing all on his own. This book examines evidence closely and attempts to fill in the gaps that have been left "blank" because of inaction and the passage of time. The authors chronicle the level of corruption that operated (and some might argue, still operates) in Italy.. In the case of the death of Mattei, the theories, ranging from being killed by his former partisan friends to a CIA hit, only help to add to the confusion and deepen the intrigue surrounding his death.

After each chapter are extensive footnotes, often times detailing interviews that were done at the time of the various investigations as well as follow-ups or expansions on certain arguments and themes. As you read the book, you will see how much effort went into writing this journalistic exposé. As I read this book, I simply couldn't put it down. If you enjoy conspiracy theories, unsolved killings or the police and investigative process in Italy, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.