Crisp yet lyrical, simple yet intelligent...haunting, shocking, and tense.—BooklistThe locals in the Italian village where he lives call him Signor Farfalla—Mr. Butterfly—for he appears to be a discreet gentleman who paints rare butterflies. But as inconspicuous as Farfalla tries to make himself, his real profession is deadly, unbeknownst to the sometime brothel worker, Clara, with whom he sleeps. Of a certain age, and as his feelings for Clara intensify, Farfalla has resolved to make his next job his last—all the while sensing a treacherous circle closing in on him.Martin Booth, novelist, critic, biographer, children's author and social historian, died this year in Devon, England. His novel Islands of Silence was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize.