Author: ramblingmads

Even angels can have a dark side…

As the sticky heat of August settles over Florence, Dan Armstrong is ready for a well-earned break— sightseeing with fiancée Anna, daughter Tricia and her fiancé Shaun. But when a British man is found dead inside the city’s magnificent Duomo, Dan’s plans quickly change.

The victim, Tristan Angel, is a super-wealthy arms dealer with a saintly name and a devilish reputation. But what was he doing in the cathedral, and who decided to make it his final confession?

At Angel’s opulent villa in the hills of Fiesole, Dan and Commissario Virgilio encounter a colourful cast of suspects—each one hiding secrets and none too eager to talk. As tempers rise and the heat
outside grows ever more intense, Dan and his four-legged sidekick, Oscar, must sniff out the truth before the killer strikes again.

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T. A. Williams is the bestselling author of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series. Trevor studied languages at University and lived and worked in Italy for eight years, returning to England
with his wife in 1972. Trevor and his wife now live in Devon.

Facebook: @TrevorWilliamsBooks
Twitter: @TAWilliamsBooks
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Bookbub profile: @trevorwilliams3

My thoughts: Yay! Another case for Dan Armstrong and the true hero, canine Officer Oscar (it’s official, Virgilio says he’s a vital part of the police) and he does of course find an important piece of evidence, and is rewarded with steak.

When the owner of an arms company is shot in the confessional of the Florence Duomo, the stunning cathedral, the Santa Maria del Fiore, there are almost too many suspects, and the international spy agencies (the ones with names like MI6 and CIA) are very interested. Angel’s company had some, interesting, clients.

But the main suspects are the group of people he brought with him. Almost all of them are employees of the company in one way or another, and some of their relationships go a long way back. Oh, and his not very happy ex-wife just happens to be in Florence too.

Dan can’t help but get involved, even though his daughter and her fiancé are visiting, as well as Anna and her daughter too. He’s supposed to be looking at wedding venues, not catching criminals. I always feel a bit sorry for Anna, Dan’s priorities go; Oscar, crime, Anna.

Obviously I really enjoyed this – I love this series, and this one reminded me I really must go back to Florence and have a proper look around – I was 14 last time and don’t remember much of our day trip to the city other than how hot and crowded it was! 

So join Dan and Oscar on another fiendish and clever case, filled with some larger than life characters (Eddie), spies, weapons dealers and a very patient fiancée in Anna.  

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

A murdered beauty influencer. A buried secret waiting to surface. A killer who’s
already one step ahead.

In the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge, a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room looking for peace from the chaos of her great-nephew’s rowdy thirtieth birthday party. But to her horror she witnesses a brutal crime from her balcony — a young woman strangled in the room opposite.

Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy — staying at the same hotel after attending a nearby
wedding — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.

Roy’s boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe, takes charge of the investigation, and as the pair follow the trail, another brutal killing tears through the town. Roy is sure there’s a link
between both murders, but Roscoe isn’t convinced.

But as Roy digs deeper, she closes in on a secret so dangerous someone will kill to
protect it.
Because in this town, the past never stays buried — and even the dead still have a
voice.

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Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction.
Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands featuring
Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man,
and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.

His latest novel, VOICES FROM THE DEAD (Book 8) begins in the picturesque
Warwickshire town of Queensbridge where a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room from a rowdy birthday party, looking for peace. But to her horror, through a window, she witnesses a brutal crime — a young woman being strangled in the new wing of the building.
Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy —attending a wedding in the same hotel — is first on
the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous
beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.

The fifth book in the series, HEIR TO MURDER, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024.
The full list of books in the series (in order) are: MURDER ON OXFORD LANE;
THE CROSSBOW STALKER; MURDER OF A DOCTOR; OUT FOR REVENGE;
HEIR TO MURDER; IT NEVER RAINS; NOT MY VALENTINE; and VOICES
FROM THE DEAD.

A collection of the first seven books was published in October 2025 under the title
DETECTIVES ROY & ROSCOE MYSTERIES 1 – 7. The whole series has been released by London publishers The Book Folks, now part of Joffe Books.

Tony has also written a stand-alone thriller, SEAT 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall (published by The Book Folks) while two further works (the
crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were
published by The Conrad Press.

Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior
school magazine. A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.

Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of
Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin.

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My thoughts: Witnessing a murder through her hotel window is a shock, but the witness, a retired nurse, has the presence of mind to call for help. Luckily DS Roy, Sunita, is at a wedding in the same hotel and is first on the scene. A young woman has been strangled.

She’s a local hairdresser and influencer, last seen very drunk in the hotel bar earlier that day. The police find DNA linked to a supposedly dead man at the scene, which sends them in the wrong direction, but they quickly get back on track.

Why would anyone want to kill Candy? She might not have appealed to everyone, but she wasn’t a terrible person. Her two friends/employees are at a loss. Her husband and her boyfriend have alibis, and her husband would more likely do away with his rival than his wife.

It must be someone in her circle. Could it date back all the way to her school days?

When a retired teacher from the same school is found murdered in her home with a nail gun, the police wonder if there is a link between the two killings. It seems slim, but as they dig into the past, certain things come to light that suggest someone with plenty to hide.

A satisfying ending, with twists and turns along the way for the team of detectives. The motives are dark and the means rather ad hoc but they get their man in the end. Very enjoyable.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.