The Ring of Fire is Mada CAZALI’s third detective novel. It is preceded by Confessions with Seashells and Salty Water and Times, on the Run. This is what Mr Viorel Urmă says about Mada CAZALI’s writing: Mada CAZALI is the creator of a new literary genre: the thriller which blends mystery, fast-paced action and sus­pense with poetry and sensibility to forge an original detective story which reads in one breath. The central characters of the three-book series–Confessions with Seashells and Salty Water; Time on the Run; The Ring of Fire–are Inspector Danilov, who struggles with family problems (his wife has disappeared for several years), and Magdalena, a mysterious woman who is like a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. She unveils herself at the end of the third book of the series, “Cercul de Foc” (“The Ring of Fire“), which, like the first two, presents multiple characters painted against various backgrounds and situations. Although relatively short, at around 130 pages each, and of deceiving simplicity, the books are apparently easy to read but solving each mystery is no easy matter for the reader… until the last pages. A thriller enthusiast myself, I was taken aback by the poetry that imbues the series–uncustomary for this specific genre. Can detective stories blend poetical atmosphere and images with the “hard” (blood, murders, etc.) stuff? It’s a bet that Mada CAZALI has won for her readers. Viorel URMĂ