«The widow Luini», the introspective noir by Salvatore Tofano

A book that is not a canonical mystery. It goes beyond, it goes beyond gender. It is a sort of sunny noir, a highly introspective and dramatic story «The widow Luini» by the Neapolitan Salvatore Tofano (Lfa Publisher). A journey through the dark dynamics of human ingratitude and the difficult choice between legality which often clashes with justice and justice which often has the stench of illegality.

Rosalia Luini, following the murder of her husband, she was left alone with her pre-adolescent son and with the grocery store to run. She is debased, like she is lost, she doesn’t know what to do. She feels abandoned by everyone and especially by the people of the neighborhood, who, fearing revenge from the criminals, prefer to shop elsewhere. The only one who comes to meet her is the teacher Lucia De Falco.

As time passes and the teacher’s help, things improve. Something, however, is wrong. The woman soon begins to feel the full weight of the debt of gratitude. She feels inadequate, she fears that no matter what she does she will never be able to fully repay the benefactress. Mechanisms of jealousy, envy and resentment are triggered in her. He doesn’t sleep at night. As soon as she closes her eyes she is gripped by nightmares. She is convinced, rightly or wrongly, that De Falco wants to take her little son away from her.

In the background the police commissioner Gennaro Fasuloobsessed by the presence of an old man who attempts suicide several times and above all by that of his intrusive and spiteful father-in-law.

One fine day Martina De Falco shows up in his office, accusing Luini of having murdered her aunt.

There is no evidence. Just clues. As much as the commissioner works, he understands that he is faced with the classic “perfect crime” and is forced to admit that “life is not a detective story, where the investigator always manages to find the solution to the case and bring the culprit to justice re-establishing social order.”

The tales of Salvatore Tofano they have appeared in anthologies from various publishers and websites. In 2011 you published «Scampia: the sailing legend that didn’t want to die and other stories» for Marotta & Cafiero with a preface by Luca Bifulco. In November 2016 Marco Perillo mentions it in his “Mysteries and secrets of the neighborhoods of Naples”, Newton Compton publishers, dwelling on the figure of the ghost of the buried alive, protagonist of one of the stories. In 2019 he published «Don’t come to my funeral» for Santelli publisher and in 2022, he published «Mamma draga» for LFA Publisher. In 2020 with the story Contagio &Sentimento he won the “Giudice Walter” prize in the “Vita in casa” literary competition organized by the website www.youpopcorn.net and on 14 February 2024 with the story “Lei no” he ranked first ex aequo in the contest ” Bloody Valentine’s Day” organized by the Zombie Readers.

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