30: You Are Fatally Invited – Ande Pliego
What. A. Debut. I was lucky enough to be able to read an advance copy of this novel. Dark, gripping tale of what happens when writers get together at a remote writing retreat.
Full review: Review: You Are Fatally Invited – Ande Pliego
31: Murder in Florence – T A Williams
Time to go back to my happy place – I’m really loving this series by T A Williams. The third instalment sees Dan Armstrong and his labradorite Oscar now set up as a private detective in Tuscany. He’s called upon to assist as death threats are being sent to actors and crew on a film set. The series is great fun and this is a wonderful instalment.
32: Murder in Siena – T A Williams
One of the things I’m enjoying most about this series is that author Williams is giving us a grand tour of Italy. Despite retiring to Tuscany, there’s very little retirement happening as Dan Armstrong and Labrador Oscar now run a private detective agency and help the police with crimes involving non-Italian speakers. When a boy is found mutilated, people are led to believe it’s a wolf attack, but Dan isn’t so sure… are the wolves circling or is it a very clever human killer?
This series has me really sucked in, and I love my virtual trips round Italy.
33: Murder at the Matterhorn – T A Williams
Retiring to Tuscany to write, former police chief inspector Dan Armstrong hasn’t done much writing or retiring. And now he’s helping out an old friend and investigating a death…. up in the mountains, at a camp of UFO-hunters! T A Williams sure knows how to give us a tour of Italy while putting his characters in unusual situations. It’s so much fun following the adventures of Dan and his sidekick Oscar the Labrador, but had to laugh at girlfriend Anna’s response to the idea of sleeping in a van on a mountain. The characters feel real and easy to root for, despite the absurdity of the predicament they find themselves in.
34: Murder at the Leaning Tower – T A Williams
This time the Italian tour settles in Pisa, where Private Detective Dan Armstrong is hired to provide security consultancy for a high-level meeting of wealthy and powerful investors being held at a private estate. Things get tricky when one particularly obnoxious character is found murdered. To complicate matters, the daughter of Dan’s girlfriend works for the dead investor, and she’s not too happy about Dan being in her mother’s life.
This is the 6th book in the Armstrong and Oscar cosy series, and it’s a wonderful comfort series for me to fall into, with great characters and beautiful settings. Each book brings a different setting in Italy, and each is a fresh new story. This one is a country house mystery with an Italian backdrop, and a great addition to the series.
35: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop – Satoshi Yagisawa
Following a bad break up, Takako finds herself going to stay with her Uncle Satoru who runs a second hand bookshop in Jinbōchō, Tokyo – a neighbourhood full of bookshops.
I struggled to connect with Takako at first, I found it hard to relate to her lack of interest in books! Jinbōchō sounds like my idea of heaven, and an ideal place to go and heal, especially if you’re given use of an apartment rent-free! But, Takako does heal, and even discovers the joy of reading – losing yourself in a book can be powerful.
The second half of the book deals with Uncle Satoru, and his relationship with his wife, Momoko, who has left him, but reappears out of the blue. Taking a trip together, Takako and Momoko bond and learn more about each other and why Mokoko left.
A wonderful quiet book about connections – while it took me a while to warm to the main character, I did feel it a worthwhile read.
36: Date with Malice – Julia Chapman
Continuing my re-read of the Dales Detective series, Date with Malice is the 2nd of the series, and quite possibly one of my favourites (although that’s like choosing a favourite child!). A resident of the local retirement complex is convinced someone is trying to kill her her, and tries to hire detective Samson O’Brien, who isn’t convinced.
And then she’s found dead, and fellow residents are convinced the manager is up to no good, and Samson ropes in the help of Delilah Metcalfe to solve the case.
I love the shenanigans of the Bruncliffe pensioners, who show that age hasn’t diminished their core of Yorkshire grit. The whole series is full of the most wonderful characters who I just love spending time with. A perfect cosy mystery with genuine laugh out loud moments.
37: Murder on the Italian Riviera – T A Williams
In the 7th book in the Armstrong and Oscar cosy mystery series, former police chief and now private detective Dan Armstrong is contacted by someone who he once helped to jail – Bianca Moretti. A body is found at the resort run by her father and while the police have filed it as an accident, Bianca and her father aren’t so sure.
Dan takes the job and finds himself trying to solve a murder in a naturist resort, with a very excitable Labrador by his side. Are the resort guests everything they seem? And who exactly was the victim? Murder on the Italian Riviera is a fun mystery, the sunny climes just what we need to brighten up a dreary wintery day. I’m totally sucked into this series, and very excited that another has been published today (2nd February) to extend my reading a little longer!
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