Mafiopoli

Sanne de Boer

'Part memoir, part shoe leather investigative journalism, Mafiopoli is a vital exploration of how organised crime takes hold of a society from the bottom up and spreads around the world.' -Miles Johnson, author of Chasing Shadows
'A beautiful, courageous and important book.' -Bas Mesters
'A compelling portrait of the largest criminal multinational in the world.' -Volkskrant
'Beautifully written, excellently researched.' -Mick Van Wely

The 'Ndrangheta mafia is one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. Bound together by blood ties, sworn to a code of silence and steeped in religious ritual, they are the force behind a litany of violence and corruption. In Mafiopoli, journalist Sanne De Boer takes us deep inside this extraordinary and ascendant criminal group.

In 2006, de Boer moved from Amsterdam to coastal Calabria, won over by the region's beauty and the warm village community. But when a car was set alight in the dead of night and, soon after, two men were shot dead, she began to see a darker side to her quiet, idyllic neighbourhood, kindling a strong desire to know more about what - or who - was behind these frequent crimes.

MAFIOPOLI is an engrossing insight into a brutal criminal organization. As Sanne de Boer pieces together the mysterious events and violence marring her new home, she dives headfirst into figuring out who the 'Ndrangheta are, and how they became such a dominant force. She speaks to people intimately connected to the 'Ndrangheta, explores the mafia's links throughout Europe and beyond, and gets to grips with exactly why all our lives are, in shocking ways, affected by their reign.