The crime novel, in Italian, is currently being printed: ‘SHAKESPEARE'S BEAR – An Investigation in the Ledro Valley’ by STEVE PENNER Val di Ledro, September. A pig goes missing from the Guì mountain pasture. The farmer, Tironi, wrongly accuses a bear. The maresciallo called in to investigate does not believe this version of events. A few hours later, the farmer also disappears. *“Shakespeare’s Bear”* is a mountain crime thriller woven through with paradoxes. Penser is an atypical Carabinieri officer who reads Ionesco and Shakespeare whilst on duty, jots down thoughts on the stretching of time instead of sleeping, and drives a 1990s Panda with the devotion of a man who has found true love. The Maresciallo is one of those men who sees systems, connections and clues that are too clear to be true. Surrounding him is a mountain community portrayed with affection and precision: the stubborn mountain innkeeper who insults everyone in the local dialect, the activists camping by the lake, the landlord who knows everything and says half of it, the priest with a soft spot for Picco Rosso and high-altitude theology, the parish surveyor who does one favour too many, and a pig, Napoleone, 180 kilos of pig philosophy, who ends up in the vicarage’s vegetable garden and, against his will, becomes the centre of everything. The novel blends the rhythm of the classic crime thriller with village comedy, environmental reflections with a subtle sense of melancholy about how we view the creatures with whom we share the world, and about their well-being. The Ledro Valley, with its shimmering lake, Habsburg-era streets and the tranquillity of October, provides the backdrop for this work. For anyone who loves unforgettable detectives, mountain villages and philosophising pigs.