It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for Murder on an Italian Island by T A Williams, and sharing my review – this is the twelfth in his excellent Armstrong and Oscar cosy mystery series. Published on 5th August by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback and hardcover, 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).
You’ll already know how much I love this series – the intriguing mysteries that always have me stumped, the gentle humour, the wonderfully drawn Italian settings, and that lovely relationship between investigator Dan and his ever-hungry Labrador Oscar. Now at twelve books, you might expect it to be running out of steam a little – I’ve certainly never stuck with a series this long – but every book is still entirely fresh and original. I’ve really loved the character development – although you could quite happily pick up any of the books as a standalone read and equally enjoy it. You’ll find (no spoilers!) reviews of every book in the series if you pop the author’s name into my search bar – and I really hope there will be many more.
Let’s take a closer look at the latest….
A holiday island…
When private investigator, Dan Armstrong, and his girlfriend, Anna, are invited to the gorgeous island of Elba for a much-needed break, he jumps at the chance. The thought of sun-drenched shores makes Dan promise Anna he won’t “play detective” for a whole week…
A luxury hotel…
Their luxurious hotel, with its wonderful food and picturesque seaside views, seems the perfect escape, especially with Dan’s best friend Virgilio and his wife joining them. But the calm shatters with a sinister encounter and a sudden, suspicious death..
A decades old case…
Virgilio’s past connection to the victim casts a long shadow, pulling Dan into a decades-old case. But beneath Elba’s beauty lie secrets and resentments – the victim was universally hated – but was his death the result of foul play or just a tragic accident?
With his faithful canine companion, Oscar, Dan must unravel the island’s mysteries, a task that soon takes a decidedly personal and unsettling turn.
A well-earned holiday, as Dan and partner Anna head to the island of Elba – together with friends Virgilio and Lina and, of course, the irrepressible Oscar. But Dan’s holidays have rather a history of not being quite as relaxing as he hopes. First there are the windsurfing classes that Anna’s arranged – and she’s rather better at it than he is. And then there’s a particularly unpleasant encounter over their evening meal – a drunken man, Ignazio Graziani, recently released from prison after a series of particularly vicious abductions. Virgilio was involved in his capture and conviction – and when the man is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the following morning, comes under suspicion when he can’t account fully for his movements the night before.
Things get more complicated when Ignazio’s brother Aldo, the owner of the resort where Dan is learning to windsurf and with a less than savoury reputation of his own, is also found dead – if the first death really was a murder, might it have been a case of mistaken identity? And then there’s the presence on the island of a couple of carabinieri investigating the theft and distribution of Etruscan works of art – might there be a link there? There’s no way two experienced investigators can resist supporting the police investigation – although their involvement proves to have an edge of danger that they really weren’t expecting, with some particularly edge-of-the-seat moments.
The mystery, as always, is nicely convoluted – with an ever-changing list of suspects and an increasingly complicated set of possible motives – and I found it as fascinating as ever, and as impossible to second guess the outcome. I very much enjoyed the Elba setting, vividly described – that closed community with long memories, where so many had their reasons for not being entirely sorry about the brothers’ demise. The more dramatic moments are exceptionally well written – but there’s also plenty of the lightness that I always enjoy, often accompanied by food, and usually with Oscar as its focus. And my goodness, this time he really earns his steak – a critical and particularly timely intervention that Lassie would have been proud of.
An excellent and challenging plot, a gripping read, but as completely enjoyable as ever – a wonderful addition to this long-running series, and very much recommended.
About the author
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.
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