FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
MEMORANDUM [TRUSTED AGENTS ONLY]
 
TO:         SAC Robert Galloway, Los Angeles Field Office
FROM:   Special Agent Dennis Rizzio, FBI LEGAT, Rome
 
SUBJECT:  Special Agent ANA GREY
LOCATION:  Siena, Italy
 
TARGET:  NICOLI NICOSA, head of successful coffee import business.  Suspected mafia involvement.
 
CONTACT:  CECILIA MARIA NICOSA, wife of Nicoli Nicosa.  Popular socialite. Claims to be Special Agent Grey’s sister.
 
THE MISSION: Special Agent Grey to make close contact with Cecilia Maria Nicosa.  Penetrate family.  Investigate disappearance of mafia operative, LUCIA VINCENZA, Nicosa’s mistress.  Gather intelligence on Nicosa’s possible ties to cocaine trafficking.
 
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Special Agent Grey will arrive during Il Palio, a famous horse race and time of high tension in the city.  Violent outbreaks among rival contradas (neighborhoods) are common.
 
WARNING:  THE SOUTHERN MAFIAS HAVE BEEN MAKING STRONG INROADS IN THIS PART OF ITALY.  MANY ENEMIES GO “WHITE SHOTGUN.” THEY DISAPPEAR.
 
UPDATE: Cecilia Maria Nicosa has been kidnapped  and their sixteen year-old son, Giovanni, severely beaten.  Nicoli Nicosa suspicious of FBI involvement.  Special Agent Grey to exercise extreme caution.

“April Smith’s White Shotgun will haunt you. . . . She is one of the finest, smartest, most gifted writers working in crime fiction today.” —Robert Crais, New York Times bestselling author of Taken

“The adrenaline is nicely balanced by [Ana’s] grappling with loyalties to both blood and Bureau.” —People

“A satisfying thriller, but what’s even more impressive is the crisp, spare writing.” —Los Angeles Times 
 
“It left me hungry for more—more Italy, more fun and more drama.” —Mark Davis, Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
“Smith tells one heck of a crime story with tightly woven, suspenseful plots and lovable but terribly mixed-up protagonists.” —USA Today
 
“Smith is a writer with a laser eye that can record with cold precision the details of the daily life of her crime-solving subjects.” —Chicago Tribune
 
“April Smith writes in the forceful style of a true literary maverick, someone who has earned the right to break a few rules.” —The New York Times
 
“Smith has created a vibrant, intriguing cast of characters and has a superb eye for detail, as evidenced by her vivid descriptions of the Italian landscape. . . . Her true forte is storytelling.” —Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
 
“Ana Grey is a credible, fascinating heroine, both worldly and rueful about her unsettled life. . . .  Tight suspense and fascinating background.” —Booklist (starred review)