Murder in Chianti
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4.0 • 59 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Set in the heart of Tuscan wine country, Camilla Trinchieri's new mystery introduces Nico Doyle, a former NYPD homicide detective who's just looking for space to grieve when he finds himself pulled into a local murder investigation.
Mourning the loss of his wife, Rita, former NYPD homicide detective Nico Doyle moves to her hometown of Gravigna in the winesoaked region of Chianti. Half Italian and half Irish, Nico finds himself able to get by in the region with the help of Rita’s relatives, but he still feels alone and out of place. He isn’t sure if it’s peace he’s seeking, but it isn’t what he finds. Early one morning, he hears a gunshot and a dog's cries near his new home and walks out to discover a dead body in the woods, flashily dressed in gold tennis shoes. When the police arrive, Nico hastily adopts the fluffy white dog as his own and wants nothing more to do with the murder.
But Salvatore Perillo, the local maresciallo, discovers Nico's professional background and enlists him to help with the case. It turns out more than one person in this idyllic corner of Italy knew the victim, and with a very small pool of suspects, including his own in-laws, Nico must dig up Gravigna’s every last painful secret to get to the truth.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This light mystery ticks all the boxes: a magical Italian village setting, warm and likable characters, and a whodunit plot that unwinds like a country road. The story kicks into gear when Nico Doyle—a New York ex-cop who moves to Gravigna, hometown of his beloved wife, Rita, after her death—stumbles upon a dead body in the woods behind his house. After two local Carabinieri officers enlist him to help investigate the crime, Nico spends his days tending to his garden, testing recipes to introduce to the menu at his in-law’s panoramic restaurant, and getting closer to his new neighbors, in the hopes of unearthing a motive and suspect. Oh, and did we mention he does it all accompanied by a lovable stray dog? We would love to personally thank Camilla Trinchieri for helping us go on vacation without ever leaving home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this vibrant mystery from Trinchieri (The Breakfast Club Murder as Camilla T. Crespi), retired Bronx policeman Nico Doyle is having breakfast one morning at the run-down farmhouse he has rented near the town of Gravigna, Italy, his late wife's hometown where he's recently settled, when he hears a gunshot in the hills. When Nico investigates, he comes across the body of a man whose face has been obliterated by a shotgun blast. The victim's Michael Johnson running shoes suggest he's an American. Salvatore Perillo, the carabinieri officer who takes charge of the case, says on learning Nico was once a homicide detective: "I've dealt with only a single murder in my career. Holy heaven, New Yorkers must have murders every day." Nico agrees to assist Perillo, despite his dislike of working homicides. Enticing descriptions of food and wines, an introspective protagonist with an unusual background, and an intricate plot that weaves its way amid past peccadillos combine to make this a winner. Readers will eagerly await Trinchieri's next.
