ramblingmads

It’s murder in paradise!

A picturesque scene…

As grape harvest season rolls around, retired DCI Dan Armstrong and his beloved canine companion, Oscar, are looking forward to a nice quiet September. But when Dan is contacted about a mysterious death out in the Tuscan Hills, it seems that work must come before pleasure.

A suspicious find…

At first it appears that the body found lying outside a prestigious winery has been the result of a tragic hit and run. But then the police discover that this is a cover up for murder…but who would kill
in such an idyllic spot and why?

A face from the past?

As Dan investigates, he meets famous ex rock star, Digger, owner of the winery and prestigious Podere Dei Santi hotel. Digger’s guests include wealthy businessmen, tourists, and, among them, suspected mafia hitmen. But more significant for Dan is a face he knows only too well from his own past and he soon finds that wine isn’t the only thing fermenting around him.

Could this murder be the start of a gangland war, or do the killer’s motives lie much closer to home?

Will complications from Dan’s past return to trouble his future? Either way, Dan and Oscar must work around the clock to solve another mystery.

Purchase

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.

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

My thoughts: It’s another case for Detective Dan and Officer Oscar in beautiful Tuscany. This time there’s multiple murders to solve and potentially a dangerous mafiosa type is the killer. 

Dan’s asked to help out with the translation work at a glamorous hotel and winery, owned by a retired rock star. Among the guests are a suspicious trio of “businessmen” and Dan’s ex-wife, awkward.

Luckily she’s seen and heard pretty much nothing, although her companion, a dodgy Anglo-Italian restaurant owner is a bit suspect, although he hasn’t done anything criminal here (hedgehog salami? No thank you)

It’s also Anna’s, Dan’s girlfriend, birthday, and she’s very understanding about him helping on the case, less so about the presence of his ex, who just seems to be hanging around like a bad smell, worse than wet Labrador (sorry Oscar).

Obviously, my favourite character, the always excellent Oscar, finds several clues and saves Dan (again), whatever would they do without him?

Another excellent, highly enjoyable, fiendish and clever case for the dynamic duo.

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

The police receive a call.

‘Please help. He’s coming.’

The small voice is barely a whisper.

‘Who’s coming? Are you in danger?’

‘He has a knife. He killed her.’

The line goes dead.

Nine-year-old Anya crawls into a cupboard in her bedroom and calls the police again. The line connects as the bedroom door creaks open.

‘They’re here . . .’

A blood-curdling scream barrels down the phone, filling the earpiece of the operator.

For the second time, the lines goes dead.

Detectives Tanzy and Byrd are called to Anya’s home, a small, semi-detached property.

They’re hit by the familiar smell of death.

Something terrible happened here — and it’s up to Tanzy and Byrd to pull together the pieces of this terrifying puzzle.

Goodreads Purchase

Chris was born in Darlington, North East of England. He loves spending time with his family which include his three sons. He enjoys walking on the beach, listening to music, going for the occasional run to keep fit, playing football, and coaching his son’s football team.

When he’s not at work and at home, he loves reading (crime), watching engineering and construction programs (he loves how things methodically fit together), likes to immerse himself in horror / supernatural films and series which make the hairs on his neck stand on end, satisfying his strange fixation for unusual escapism, and possesses a disturbing obsession with drinking far too much coffee to feed his writing habits.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Website

My thoughts: This had me hooked from the beginning, who was Anya and why was she so scared? And then when she’s not the only child in peril, but that little girl has vanished, and there’s more murders, plus there’s something weird going on at the rehab/spa place that is suspicious.

I like Tanzy and Byrd, I enjoyed their previous outings, they’re interesting characters, both with full personal lives that often take a back seat to their jobs. Which throws up other issues and they have to balance things. They’re also very good detectives, with the ability to spot the thing that the whole case could hinge on.

Good, solid crime writing, lots of twists and hold-your-breath moments.

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

Meet Pippa. She’s feisty, forty-something — and living her best life in the charming little town of Louennec, Brittany.

Not so long ago, she was a corporate career girl. Now she runs her own bakery — and goes home every night to her dishy gendarme boyfriend and a glass of Merlot.

But murder is just around the corner . . .

Pippa is out on her rounds, delivering delicious crusty bread to her most loyal customers. Her first stop is Derek’s remote gîte. Fitness instructor Derek sees carbs as the enemy. But even he can’t resist Pippa’s signature baguettes.

Pippa cycles to Derek’s door . . . only to discover, someone got there first.

Derek is dead! His body lies slumped across the piano, in a mess of blood and — to Pippa’s horror — breadcrumbs.

He’s been bludgeoned over the head with . . . a lethal stick of bread?

Just like that, Pippa finds the finger of suspicion pointing at her.

Can she follow the trail of breadcrumbs to uncover the true killer — before more of her friends and neighbours die?

Goodreads

Purchase

Anne Penketh is originally from Lancashire, England, and turned to fiction after a career as a foreign correspondent. After writing a series of police procedurals for Joffe books set in Norfolk, where her relatives live, she has now followed her heart to Brittany for some amateur sleuthing. Anne worked in France for many years and divides her time between London and Paris.

Facebook Twitter Bluesky Instagram Website

My thoughts: I like this series set in Brittany in a town filled with a mix of locals and British ex-pats, where things can get a bit tense between the two. The Bretons don’t even really like people from other parts of France, so British people “taking over” drives a few of them a bit mad.

These issues flare up in different ways, and now someone is killing people with a baguette filled not with delicious dough but metal pipes! And Pippa, as a baker, is on the suspect list.

So she and her friend and fellow ex-pat Judith, start their own investigation. It’s enough to make Yann, her boyfriend (and police officer) say “Peeper!!” Which is the amusing way her says her name and always makes me giggle.

Taking in the interesting (and stereotypically French) way of conducting affairs while married, rivalries over  bread, complicated and messy relationships, and occasionally making me hanker for a proper French baguette (British ones are too big and too doughy), this is a fun, entertaining read and if you solve the crime before either Pippa or the police, get yourself a croissant!

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