"When you read Matteo Strukul, wear something washable. The action is non-stop, and the blood flies off the page." - Linwood Barclay, bestselling author of Never Look Away and Fear the Worst) Hell hath no fury - Two perfectly matched gangs are fighting for control of the North-East Italian region of Venetia. But a formidable young woman with vengeance on her mind has plans to upset the balance. Abandoned by her mother and violated by a gang of criminals just after they slaughtered her father, Mila Zago is a cold-blooded killer, a deadly assassin. Brought up by her grandfather on the Sette Comuni plateau under a rigid martial code, she returns home to seek her revenge, conspiring to create a spectacular showdown reminiscent A Fistful of Dollars. The Ballad of Mila is the first novel in an on-going series focused on the formidable female Italian Bounty Hunter Mila Zago, a.k.a. Red Dread. As well as being shortlisted for the Premio Scerbanenco / La Stampa, it won the Premio Speciale Valpolicella 2011, and in its graphic novel format was awarded the the Premio Leone di Narnia as "Best Italian comic book series of the year". Meet Mila - you'd better pray the cops find you first -