"Not for the first time, I envied the sleuths of the black and white crime noir movies their broad-brimmed hats. I'm sure Philip Marlowe never had water soaking his underpants".
Murder in Florence by T.A. Williams is the third instalment of the entertaining Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries series set in Tuscany. I have read all three, and this is my favourite book so far.
Murder in Florence reads as a standalone, but do treat yourself and read all three books, if you haven't started this series yet.
Blurb:
Murder in Florence
A brand new cozy crime series set in gorgeous Tuscany... It's murder in paradise!
A glamorous film star...
Life as a private investigator in the suburbs ofFlorence isn't always as glamorous as Dan Armstrong imagined it to be, until he is asked to investigate a recent spate of violent attacks on a Hollywood movie set in Florence. The star of the show, movie-star royalty Selena Gardner, fears her life is in imminent danger.
Foul play on set...
As Dan investigates, he discovers secrets and scandals are rife within the cast and crew. But with no actual murder, Dan belives these attacks could simply be warnings to someone... until the first body is found.
A dangerous killer on the loose.
Now Dan and his trusty sidekick Oscar are in a race against time to catch the murderer. But the more Dan uncovers, the more killer strikes and Dan finds himself caught in the line of fire too! Is this one case Dan and Oscar will regret?
A gripping new murder mystery series by bestselling author T.A. Williams, perfect for fans of Lee Strauss and Beth Byers.
It's been three months since Dan Armstring started his new career in Florence as a Private Investigator. His new job is far from glamorous, "it isn't all beautiful heiresses, diamond necklaces and bottles of bourbon". As it happens, the jobs are very mundane: unfaithful spouses, pilfering home helps, nasty neighbours and missing persons.
Dan is excited to hear from his friend Virgilio Pisano of the Florence Murder Squad, who calls to tell him of a business sent his way. Not just any old job, but one that involves the movie royalty, Selena Gardner. The film star is in Florence with the film crew, and they've been getting death threats.
The movie they are making is set in the Medici times. As if staying in character, the mysterious hostile messenger is sending threatening notes, attached to an arrow.
Dan and Oscar arrive on the set, and begin asking questions. Is someone from the crew involved? The questioning indicates there's a lot of tension between the senior members of the crew.
"Whatever the full truth of it, it was clear that there was a lot bubbling away in the background to the set of Lust for Power. The thing I couldn't get my head around was why any of these internal feuds could have escalated to murder threats and expressed themselves in such a primitive, if cinematographic, way".
At first it appears as if it could be a nasty game of threats and warnings, but when a murder is committed, the sinister game moves onto the next, evil level. "I no longer had any doubts as to whether or not this whole bow-and-arrow story was a hoax. Whoever had done this had intended to kill".
The film producers are reluctant to stop filming and go back to Hollywood, and every day brings a new danger. Even Dan and Oscar could become potential targets if they stay on the set.
Apart from the escalating danger at the film production, the police is looking into an abduction of a young woman.
It is a race against time to apprehend the ruthless killer who is taunting the film crew with the arrow-delivered messages, and rescue the missing woman.
The plot throbs with passions, rivalries and suspicions. The story is well-written and absorbs you completely.
There is a lot of mild humour, provided by the hapless hoover of a dog, Oscar, who loves food and ladies. Oscar is a lovely companion, though not exactly a guard dog. "The doorbell rang and Oscar opened one eye. He wasn't a natural guard dog, and he didn't bother getting up from his bed by the window".
Dan's musings are often self-deprecating.
There is a great cast of characters, some have already made their appearance in the previous books, some are completely new. And there is a new romantic interest in Dan's life, who will hopefully move into the further books in the series.
The locations chosen for the film production make you want pack your suitcase and jump on the plane to Tuscany. It's been many years since I visited Florence, but reading this book brought back some lovely memories. I dug out the old photo album (remember those?), and showed some of the pictures to my younger son.
I enjoyed reading all the historical facts, especially the references to the Pazzi conspiracy, that are presented in an entertaining and informative way, which adds to the plot rather than distracts from it.
My only, very mild, niggle is related to the mention of the mafia.
"The Mafia?... The fact that we were in Florence, which is almost a thousand kilometres from the Mafia heartland of Sicily, made this unlikely but it had to be borne in mind." While true about the Sicilian mafia, there could have been a much closer organised crime group involved, Ndrangheta. Based in Calabria, they have moved up North. There was recently the biggest mafia trial in decades in Emilia Romagna. They are also present in Liguria (Imperia Ventimiglia). Mafia is not just in Sicily, and the Italian police would have known that, while not based in Florence, there could have been a possibility of money laundering or some other organised crime, so potentially it is not too far fetched to consider it.
Murder in Florence is a deeply satisfying cozy mystery. It is soaked in the Tuscan atmosphere, its magnificent sights and sounds. Dan and Oscar are a team made in heaven.
This book review is part of the blog tour for Murder in Florence.
Many thanks to T.A. Williams, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!
Purchase Link -
Author Bio –
T A Williams is the author of over twenty bestselling romances for HQ and Canelo and is now turning his hand to cosy crime, set in his beloved Italy, for Boldwood. The series will introduce us to retired DCI Armstrong and his labrador Oscar and the first book, entitled Murder in Tuscany, will be published in October 2022. Trevor lives in Devon with his Italian wife.
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