The author

Gabriele Piermartini was born in Forlì, Italy, in 1966.

His professional life falls into two clearly distinct — and for that very reason complementary — chapters. From 1986 to 2015 he served in the Carabinieri, Italy's national gendarmerie, retiring with the rank of Chief Marshal after holding operational, administrative and technical posts across the country. Since 2015 he has practised as a lawyer, having earned three degrees, a year of study at the College of Law of the University of Oklahoma and then at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and a doctorate in criminal procedure at the Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna.

«The Underdog King», written in 2005 and revised for publication in 2026, is his first novel.

The underdog — the one who starts last and refuses to give in — was something the author knew long before he wrote about it. From his first job hauling crates at the fruit market to the trials that marked his path, he kept looking for his own way without ever losing hope.