A Death in Malta

Starred review from September 11, 2023
Journalist Galizia (The Economy of Modern Malta) combines the personal and the political in this blistering account of his mother’s crusade against government corruption, her subsequent murder, and his family’s efforts to find justice. Daphne Caruana Galizia (1964–2017) became Malta’s first female newspaper columnist in the 1990s and wrote extensively on illegal activity by government officials. Daphne’s rigorous investigations—which stood in contrast to Malta’s otherwise passive media ecosystem—led Politico to dub her a “a one-woman WikiLeaks” and provoked regular threats to her and her family’s lives, including multiple attempts to set their home on fire. On October 16, 2017, a bomb detonated in the car Daphne was driving, killing her instantly. The assassination caused an international uproar; while those involved in planting and detonating the device were apprehended, questions about who hired them remain. Galizia recounts his mother’s extraordinary career without tipping into hagiography, and catalogs the infuriating obstacles he and his family have faced as they’ve sought answers about her death. The result is an instant classic of political true crime that will make readers’ blood boil. Agent: Patrick Walsh, PEW Literary.