Murder Most Unfortunate


Book Description

Rick Montoya, an American translator travelling through Italy, tries to spend his days reveling in art but soon finds himself wrapped up in a scandal Wrapping up an interpreter job in Bassano del Grappa at a conference on artist Jacopo da Bassano, Rick Montoya looks forward to exploring the town. And it would be fun to look into the history of two long-missing paintings by the master, a topic that caused the only dust-up among the normally staid group of international scholars attending the seminar. Bassano has much to offer to Rick the tourist, starting with its famous covered bridge, an ancient castle, and several picturesque walled towns within striking distance. He also plans to savor a local cuisine that combines the best of Venice with dishes from the Po Valley and the surrounding mountains. These plans come to a sudden halt when one of the seminar's professors turns up dead. Rick is once again drawn into a murder mystery, this time with a pair of local cops who personify the best and the worst of the Italian police force. At the same time he's willingly pulled into a relationship with Betta Innocenti, the daughter of a local gallery owner, who is equally intrigued by the lost paintings. They quickly realize that the very people who might know the story are also the main suspects in the murder—and that someone not above resorting to violence is watching their every move. In David P. Wagner's signature style, Murder Most Unfortunate offers a thrilling investigation while allowing you to enjoy the food, drink, and culture of Italy without traveling yourself. Other books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mysteries: Cold Tuscan Stone Death in the Dolomites Murder Most Unfortunate Return to Umbria A Funeral in Mantova




Murder Most Unfortunate


Book Description

Wrapping up an interpreter job in Bassano del Grappa at a conference on artist Jacopo da Bassano, a famous native son, Rick Montoya looks forward to exploring the town. And it would be fun to look into the history of two long-missing paintings by the master, a topic that caused the only dust-up among the normally staid group of international scholars attending the seminar. Bassano has much to offer to Rick the tourist, starting with its famous covered bridge, an ancient castle, and several picturesque walled towns within striking distance. He also plans to savor a local cuisine that combines the best of Venice with dishes from the Po Valley and the surrounding mountains. These plans come to a sudden halt when one of the seminar's professors turns up dead. Rick is once again drawn into a murder investigation, this time with a pair of local cops who personify the best and the worst of the Italian police force. At the same time he's willingly pulled into a relationship with Betta Innocenti, the daughter of a local gallery owner, who is equally intrigued by the lost paintings. They quickly realize that the very people who might know the story are also the main suspects in the murder - and that someone not above resorting to violence is watching their every move.




Death in the Dolomites


Book Description

"Like Cold Tuscan Stone, the novel is light on its feet, with a protagonist who will strike readers as a good guy to hang around with."—Booklist Perfect for readers of Donna Leon and Martin Walker, this thrilling addition to David Wagner's Italian mysteries immerses us in the sights, smells and tastes of Italy, this time in a picture-perfect Alpine town with a surprising dark side Rick Montoya is looking forward to a break from his translation business in Rome—a week of skiing in the Italian Alps with old college buddy Flavio. But Rick's success helping the Italian police with a murder in Tuscany sends the Campiglio cops his way. An American banker working in Milano is missing. The man's sister, an attractive and spoiled divorcée, has no idea where he could be, nor do the locals who saw him on his way to the slopes. With the discovery of a body, Rick and Inspector Albani widen their list of suspects. Picturesque resort Campiglio harbors old rivalries, citizens on the make, and a cut-throat political campaign. Why would these local issues connect to the missing banker? The investigation doesn't keep Rick and Flavio from enjoying perfect ski conditions in the Dolomites and glorious after-ski wines and bowls of fresh pasta. As for women—Rick has to wonder if the banker's sister is just hitting him up for information. The action heats up, testing laid-back Rick whose uncle, a Roman cop, keeps urging him to make the police his career. A murder in the Alps makes short work of translator Rick Montoya's vacation, and he soon finds himself entrenched in the investigation. But there's more to this picturesque community than meets the eye, and it'll take a thrilling chase to solve the case before anyone else gets hurt. Other books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mysteries: Cold Tuscan Stone Death in the Dolomites Murder Most Unfortunate Return to Umbria A Funeral in Mantova




First Class Murder


Book Description

A murdered heiress, a missing necklace, and a train full of shifty, unusual, and suspicious characters leaves Daisy and Hazel with a new mystery to solve in this third novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are taking a vacation across Europe on world-famous passenger train, the Orient Express—and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class travelers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: There’s rumor of a spy in their midst. Then, during dinner, a bloodcurdling scream comes from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered—her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer has vanished, as if into thin air. The Wells & Wong Detective Society is ready to crack the case—but this time, they’ve got competition.




Cold Tuscan Stone


Book Description

Rick Montoya has moved from New Mexico to Rome, embracing the life of a translator. He's settling in to la dolce vita when a school friend who is now senior in the Italian Art Squad recruits Rick for an unofficial undercover role. Armed with a list of galleries, suspects, and an expense account, Rick would arrive in Tuscany posing as a buyer for a Santa Fe gallery and flush out burial urn traffickers. But before sunset on Rick's first day in Volterra, a gallery employee dies in a brutal fall from a high cliff. The local Commissario and his team consider Rick an amateur, and worse, a foreigner. And now they suspect him in the dead man's murder. While the Volterra squad pursues its leads, Rick continues to interview his list: a museum director, a top gallery owner, a low-profile import/export businessman and his enterprising color-coordinated assistant, and a sensuous heiress with a private art specialty and clientele. When Rick's girlfriend Erica arrives from Rome to visit him, she rekindles a friendship with an alluring, maybe dangerous, acquaintance. Has Rick's role made him the target of both cops and criminals?




Old World Murder


Book Description

Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash. Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence—by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle...before she becomes a part of history herself. Praise: "Clever plot twists and credible characters make this a far from humdrum cozy."—Publishers Weekly "This series debut by an author of children's mysteries rolls out nicely for readers who like a cozy with a dab of antique lore. Jeanne M. Dams fans will like the ethnic background."—Library Journal "Information on how to conduct historical research, background on Norwegian culture, and details about running an outdoor museum frame the engaging story of a woman devastated by a failed romantic relationship whose sleuthing helps her heal."—Booklist "Old World Murder is strongest in its charming local color and genuine love for Wisconsin's rolling hills, pastures, and woodlands...a delightful distraction for an evening or two."—New York Journal of Books "A wonderfully-woven tale that winds in and out of modern and historical Wisconsin with plenty of mysteries—both past and present. In curator Chloe Ellefson, Ernst has created a captivating character with humor, grit, and a tangled history of her own that needs unraveling. Enchanting!"—Sandi Ault, author of the WILD Mystery Series and recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award "Propulsive and superbly written, this first entry in a dynamite new series from accomplished author Kathleen Ernst seamlessly melds the 1980's and the 19th century. Character-driven, with mystery aplenty, Old World Murder is a sensational read. Think Sue Grafton meets Earlene Fowler, with a dash of Elizabeth Peters."—Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author of I Shall Not Want and One Was A Soldier "Museum masterpiece."—Rosebud Book Reviews "A real find...5 stars."—Once Upon a Romance




Murder Most Fowl


Book Description

A Shakespearean twist on the long-running Meg Langslow mystery series in this next installment from Donna Andrews, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Falcon Always Wings Twice. In Murder Most Fowl, Meg Langslow’s in for a busy summer. Her husband is directing a production of Macbeth, and most of the cast and crew are occupying spare bedrooms in their house. She also has to keep an eye on Camp Birnam, where a group of medieval reenactors are commemorating the real-life Macbeth by setting up what they fondly believe is an authentic medieval Scottish military camp. And then there’s Damien Goodwin, a filmmaker who has been hanging around, trying to document the production. When Goodwin hosts a showing of some of the footage he’s taken, he manages to embarrass or offend just about everyone. The next morning Meg isn’t exactly surprised to find that someone has murdered him. But who? Some people’s motives were obvious from the footage: the couple whose affair was revealed . . . the bombastic leader of the reenactors, who could be facing years in prison if the evidence from the video helps convict him of sheep stealing . . . the actress who’s desperately trying to downplay a health issue that could cost her the role of her life. Other motives are only hinted at—did the filmmaker have other footage that would reveal why one of the actors is behaving so furtively? Unfortunately, whoever murdered Goodwin also destroyed all the electronic devices on which his video was stored. So Caerphilly’s chief of police—and Meg—must rediscover the same secrets the filmmaker did if they want to catch a killer.




Murder Most Fab


Book Description

Hello, I'm Johnny Debonair and this is my book - Murder Most Fab. Buy it. You won't regret it. Everything that has happened so publicly is explained. Of course, I'd prefer it if you remember me as I was at my height, before the past caught up with me so spectacularly - TV's Mr Friday Night with an enviable lifestyle and the nation at my feet. My fame might have looked easy to you at the time, but getting to the top of the celebrity ladder is hard work. It took talent, beauty, commitment and, uniquely in my case, a number of unfortunate deaths. If we were being picky you might describe me as a serial killer, but I really don't see myself that way. It sounds trite to say 'one thing led to another' but it's true. As you'll discover I owe something of my rise and my fall to three individuals: my mother, an eccentric country girl who taught me exhibitionism by hanging naked from the clocktower of Hythe town hall; Catherine, my best friend, then partner in business - a devil in red heels, who, in her clear Essex accent, taught me how to 'look after number one'; and Timothy, who broke my heart and caused me to seek refuge in sex, money and celebrity. But in the end you have to take responsibility for your own actions. No one was forcing me, were they? I hope you, the public, can forgive me and enjoy this sordid tale for what it is - my final entertainment for you.




Unlucky 13


Book Description

The Women's Murder Club is stalked by a killer with nothing to lose. San Francisco Detective Lindsay Boxer is loving her life as a new mother. With an attentive husband, a job she loves, plus best friends who can talk about anything from sex to murder, things couldn't be better. Then the FBI sends Lindsay a photo of a killer from her past, and her happy world is shattered. The picture captures a beautiful woman at a stoplight. But all Lindsay sees is the psychopath behind those seductive eyes: Mackie Morales, the most deranged and dangerous mind the Women's Murder Club has ever encountered. In this pulse-racing, emotionally charged novel by James Patterson, the Women's Murder Club must find a killer-before she finds them first.




Murder Most Fair


Book Description

All is far from quiet on the home front in USA Today bestselling author Anna Lee Huber’s captivating mystery series, in which former Secret Service agent Verity Kent receives a visitor—who is being trailed by a killer . . . November 1919.A relaxing few weeks by the seaside with her husband, Sidney, could almost convince Verity Kent that life has returned to the pleasant rhythm of pre-war days. Then Verity’s beloved Great-Aunt Ilse lands on their doorstep. After years in war-ravaged Germany, Ilse has returned to England to repair her fragile health—and to escape trouble. Someone has been sending her anonymous threats, and Verity’s Secret Service contacts can only provide unsettling answers. Even deep in the Yorkshire Dales, where she joins Verity’s family for the holidays, Ilse encounters difficulties. Normally peaceful neighbors are hostile, seeking someone to blame for the losses they’ve endured. When Ilse’s maid is found dead, Verity must uncover whether this is anti-German sentiment taken to murderous lengths, or whether there is a more personal motive at work. Could Verity’s shadowy nemesis, Lord Ardmore, be involved? And if so, how much closer to home will the blow land when he inevitably strikes again? “…A treat for WWI buffs and the legion of fans who have grown fond of Verity.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for Anna Lee Huber’s Penny for Your Secrets “A historical mystery to delight fans of Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.” —Bookpage “Stellar mystery . . . a great read for fans of the series and all who enjoyDownton Abbey-era fiction.” —Booklist