The Italian countryside in the summer of 1978. The hottest for nearly a century, when adults migrated indoors behind shutters to wait for the relatively cooler evenings before emerging. Children, free of parental restraint, make the most of this and spend their days playing in the countryside, enjoying their new-found freedom. In the tiny hamlet of Acqua Traverse, Michele and his friends cycle the surrounding area, gradually going further and further away from home. Playing games involving forfeits for the loser, it is this that causes Michele to make a momentous discovery, one that will change his life forever. With a child's naivete, he is unable to comprehend the implications of his find and treats the situation as just another childhood adventure. But even at his young age, he realises he must treat it with trepidation, fear and secrecy. Author Niccolo Ammaniti spins a magical yet eery tale of a childhood summer spoilt by an adult crime, slowly building up the tension until the final shocking conclusion. Capturing a child's mind with uncanny accuracy, he takes the reader back to their adolescence and the fears and inquisitiveness that goes with it. This is a stunning, startling read admirably translated by Jonathan Hunt. - Lucy Watson