The Horror at Gancio Rosso

By Paul Di Filippo and Claudio Chillemi

A series of mysterious, ritual murders linked to the mummies of the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo brings Joe Petrosino, the famous Italian-American cop from New York, back to his native land of Sicily to investigate the case.
The investigation reveals an obscure threat coming from a distant past, and maybe even from another dimension. Can Joe face this threat and crack the case? Who’s the Savage Soldier, whose shadow looms all over these events?
This and much more in a terrifying sequel to H.P. Lovecraft's THE HORROR AT RED HOOK. And this time... the Old Ones come to Italy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Acheron Books
• Release date: Jul 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9788899216276

Book preview

Claudio Chillemi & Paul Di Filippo

The Horror

at

Gancio Rosso

The Horror at Gancio Rosso

Claudio Chillemi & Paul Di Filippo

Acheron Books n.8

Editorial Director: Adriano Barone

Editing by Adriano Barone

Cover by Diramazioni

Ebook Publishing by Antonino Lo Iacono

ISBN epub: 9788899216276

ISBN mobi: 9788899216290

Copyright © 2015 Acheron Books

All rights reserved

Acheron Books – www.acheronbooks.com

Paul Di Filippo sold his first short story in 1977, and since then has sold over 200 more. They, plus some novels, bring his current total of published works up to thirty-five books. He likes to imagine, against all odds, that he is at the midpoint of his career. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft's home town, with his partner of 40 years duration, Deborah Newton, a chocolate-colored cocker spaniel named Brownie and a calico cat named Penny Century.

Claudio Chillemi is an Italian speculative fiction writer, author of numerous short stories and novels. He lives in Sicily, on the slopes of Etna, with his wife Rosaria, and two turtles, reminding him that life must be addressed slowly.

Acheron Books

Website: www.acheronbooks.com

The next day I was increasingly apprehensive about the police, for a patient brought rumours of a suspected fight and death. West had still another source of worry, for he had been called in the afternoon to a case which ended very threateningly. An Italian woman had become hysterical over her missing child—a lad of five who had strayed off early in the morning and failed to appear for dinner—and had developed symptoms highly alarming in view of an always weak heart. It was a very foolish hysteria, for the boy had often run away before; but Italian peasants are exceedingly superstitious, and this woman seemed as much harassed by omens as by facts.

—Herbert West, Reanimator

1.

Send for the Dago!

Joseph Petrosino had never married. The rigors of his profession had disallowed such a natural comfort and solace. No domestic companionship had ever brightened or softened his off-duty life. (Although, if truth be told, he had felt, for almost three decades now, that somewhere lived a woman for him. In fact, he had experienced a continuous background numinous vibration, as if a psychic cord connected him to this mystery presence.) But the long hours and frequent incidents of mortal danger attendant upon his occupation would have laid a severe stress upon any spouse, a burden that Petrosino deemed unconscionable. Too many times his bold crime-fighting exploits had brought him face-to-face with the Reaper.

The closest encounter, of course, had been that day in Palermo. March 12, 1909, an arranged meeting at the Piazza Marina with a supposed informer who had been willing to provide evidence against a host of transplanted Mafia criminals now dwelling in Petrosino's cherished New York City, all linked in one way or another to the infamous Don Vito Cascio Ferro. Petrosino had returned to Sicily to investigate the death threats aimed at Enrico Caruso, recently famous throughout America. If he obtained this proof of their crimes, Petrosino could return to his adopted homeland and his beloved metropolis and rid the streets of dozens of bad eggs.

But instead of meeting an informant, the betrayed Petrosino had encountered a hail of bullets from Mafia assassins. Only that nebulous sense of warning from an invisible source, that faculty which had saved his bacon

Reviews for The Horror at Gancio Rosso

[dwatson2_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I recently read a novella by Paul Di Filippo and Claudio Chillemi called The Horror at Ganico Rosso. Set in the early 1900’s, this story tells the tale of retired detective named Joe who gets called back to work to solve a series of murders that’s related to a case that he worked on years ago. The murders are linked to the mummies of the Capuchin Catacombs and they may hint at a threat that is coming to earth from another dimension.The Horror At Gancio Rosso is a short but entertaining read that is inspired by the works of H..P. Lovecraft. This story includes monsters, mummies,parallel dimensions and occult happenings.It also has a good mystery with intriguing characters in an eerie setting. The book had a pulp fiction type feel to it, the story is simple, entertaining and throws a lot of strange creatures and villains at you in a short period of time which is all a true horror fan can ask for. All in all this book is a lot of fun and reminded me of the type of stories that I’ve enjoyed in Weird Tales magazine and it’s a must read if You are a fan of Lovecraft.