#Review: Murder in Tuscany by T A Williams @tawilliamsbooks @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources #blogtour #BoldwoodBloggers #cosycrime #Tuscany

I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of Murder in Tuscany by T A Williams: his first venture into cozy crime, published by Boldwood Books on 18th October, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).

Through all those difficult years – all my personal trials and tribulations, then the years when the world became a strange place for all of us for a while – I’ve become a considerable fan of Trevor’s quite wonderful romances. They’ve always been the perfect escape, with a welcome injection of warmth and sunshine on the darkest days – just pop his name into the search box on the right, you’ll find lots of reviews of his lovely books, or you can always browse a little on his Amazon author page. But it’s not a romance this time, it’s a cozy mystery – and although that genre is rarely my first choice of reading, I was tremendously intrigued and didn’t hesitate in signing up to read and review. I could see we were still going to be visiting one of his perfectly drawn Italian locations, and that looks like a black labrador on the cover (ah, that must be Oscar…) – so there’s two boxes ticked already. And he’s not going to be an author who’ll give me sleepless nights, is he? He’s far too nice for that!

So, let’s take a closer look…

A remote retreat…

 

Nestled high in the Tuscan hills lies Villa Volpone, home to renowned crime writer Jonah Moore and his creative writing course. It’s also the last place retired DCI Dan Armstrong expected to spend his retirement! Dan’s no writer, but maybe this break will help him to think about the next chapter in his own life story?

 

A gruesome murder…

 

But only days into the course, Jonah Moore is found stabbed to death with his award-winning silver dagger! And Dan finds himself pulled out of retirement with a killer to catch.

 

Eleven possible suspects.

 

The other guests all seem shocked by Jonah’s death, but Dan knows that one of them must be lying. And as he and Italian Commissario Virgilio Pisano begin to investigate it quickly becomes clear that everyone at Villa Volpone has secrets to hide…

 

But can Dan discover who the murderer is before they strike again?

I think you can always tell when an author’s really enjoying their writing – and it’s plain from the very beginning that this book was written by an author having the best possible time. And it becomes entirely infectious – a book that’s fun to write becomes a book that’s fun to read too, and I thought this book was quite wonderful. And it’s not only a great one to read as a standalone, but the perfect foundation for an ongoing series.

In the author’s romances, we’ve got used to the well drawn female protagonists – it must have been particularly liberating to create a male lead for a change, and ex-DCI Dan Armstrong was a great character. Dan’s very much out of his comfort zone as he arrives at Villa Volpone for his creative writing course – a retirement gift from his colleagues, who really hadn’t read the small print when making the booking. And then the rest of the cast assembles – the eccentric, the mysterious, the ones who might not be quite what they seem, the few who feel as out of place as he does – and he also meets his host Jonah (the allegedly famous author) along with his family and lugubrious butler. When Jonah is found murdered – and it transpires that his cause of death is far from straightforward – what follows is the best of locked room mysteries where Dan teams up with a friend in the local police to attempt to identify the perpetrator.

I really loved every moment of this book – and much of that enjoyment came from the characterisation. Dan himself is just so singularly likeable – the book’s written from his viewpoint and, despite the personal issues he’s slowly coming to terms with, he views everything with a wry and self-deprecating humour that makes the reading a joy. And every single character at the Villa is wonderfully drawn, some of them caricatures at first but with their real selves slowly uncovered. Dan’s personal story runs alongside the murder investigation – I really enjoyed his alliance and friendship with local detective Virgilio, his small steps into the world of possible romance, and loved his adventures with the Villa’s enthusiastic and ebullient black labrador Oscar.

The thread of humour runs throughout – and I very much enjoyed it – but there’s plenty about this book that would more than satisfy a more dedicated crime reader, with all the unexpected twists and turns of the investigation and its distinct flavour of classic Agatha Christie. And it’ll also more than satisfy anyone with particular expectations of the author’s own writing – the Tuscan setting is every bit as vividly drawn as those in his romances, filled with description of the views, the walks among living history, and so many meals to enjoy.

I’m just so delighted that this book will be the first in a new series – it’s complete in itself, but certainly left me wanting more. Whatever your reading tastes, very highly recommended – and I’m really looking forward to the next one…

About the author

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, was published in October 2022. Trevor lives in Devon with his Italian wife.

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