Death In The Tuscan Hills

Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2017. Spring, 1967. The trail of tragedy and destruction that followed the previous winter's flood seems to have died down; Florence is beginning to recover. But Inspector Bordelli does not feel the same sense of relief - he has not had a moment's peace since his investigation of a young boy's murder went disastrously wrong. Unsettled and embittered, Bordelli resigns from the force and leaves the city. He could not continue to work as a policeman while the perpetrators of such a terrible crime were still at large. Now, in the solitude of his new home in the Tuscan hills, he spends his days cooking, going for long walks and learning to grow his own vegetables. But the thought of that case - of justice not served - is constantly with him. Until fate, in which he has never believed, unexpectedly offers him the chance of retribution . . .

In the picturesque Tuscan hill town of Scandicci, the body of a girl is discovered. Scantily dressed, she is lying by the edge of the woods. The local police investigate the case - but after a week, they still haven't even identified her, let alone got to the bottom of how she died. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara, head of Florence's elite Squadra Mobile, decides to step in. Because toxins were discovered in the girl's body, many assumed that she died of a self-inflicted drugs overdose. But Ferrara quickly realises that the truth is darker than that: he believes that the girl was murdered. And when he delves deeper, there are many aspects to the case that convince Ferrara that the girl's death is part of a sinister conspiracy - a conspiracy that has its roots in the very foundations of Tuscan society... Originally published in Italian as La Loggia Degli Innocenti.

"This is the true story of the murder of Artemio Bruni, a peasant farmer in the mountains of Casentino, north-eastern Tuscany, in the winter of 1907. Artemio was my husband's great-grandfather. "For reasons not understood by my husband's family, Grandpa Artemio's death was never investigated. It was not reported to the police, nor did Bruna Bruni, Artemio's wife, ever demand justice. How could that be possible, I asked my mother-in-law - was it because of the mafia? 'No, no, you don't understand,' she answered. 'Things were different in the mountains one hundred years ago. Grandpa and Grandma were poor farmers, no one could have cared less about them. Grandpa was a nobody and life was cheap in Tuscany then.'" When Australian author and journalist Lisa Clifford moved to Florence to be with her Italian husband, an unsolved murder in his family became part of her life. The more Lisa found out about it, the more intrigued she became - so much so that she was driven to investigate the tragic events of a century ago. Death in the Mountains is Lisa's brilliant recreation of the life and death of Artemio Bruni, and an evocation of the world of the Tuscan mountains in the early 20th century. It is both a murder mystery and a beautifully observed picture of a lost Italy.

Warm sun and rolling hills, olive oil with thick slices of country bread, stone walls three feet thick, porcini picked that day, and bottles of earth-flavored wines are but some of the ingredients in Mate's memoirs of Tuscany. This is the story of how Mate and his wife found their dream house and began their love affair with the place and its people.

Filippo Trantino grows up in Tuscany and later moves to America with his family, leaving his heart among the vines of his family's wine estate. After he returns home for a funeral, his cousins convince him that Nonno Filippo's death was not an accident. While solving the crime, Filippo traverses the pastoral landscapes of Tuscany, indulging in the area's most delicious wine and food and discovers the life he was always meant to live. Dick Rosano's A Death In Tuscany is part mystery, part wine tutorial and part romp through Tuscany's beautiful countryside.

In 1960s Florence, a loan shark is murdered in this moody mystery featuring “a disillusioned anti-hero who is difficult to forget” (Andrea Camilleri). Florence, 1965. A man is found murdered, a pair of scissors stuck through his throat. Only one thing is known about him—he was a loan shark, who ruined and blackmailed the vulnerable men and women who would come to him for help. Inspector Bordelli prepares to launch a murder investigation. But the case will be a tough one for him, arousing mixed emotions: the desire for justice conflicting with a deep hostility for the victim. And he is missing his young police sidekick, Piras, who is convalescing at his parents’ home in Sardinia. But Piras hasn’t been recuperating for long before he too has a mysterious death to deal with . . .

Dean Daniel Allen''s Friday afternoon trip to Jackson''s Hardware in downtown Jeffreysville for the mundane purchase of a deadbolt lock for his kitchen door becomes the prelude to ten days of momentous events. Several members of the faculty as well as a number of students at DeMott University will never be the same after Dean Allen finds the beautiful Jeanette de Lorien in a piano practice room in the tower of the University Library, finds her very dead indeed. An unlikely detective, only Dean Allen''s sense of duty will keep him cooperating with the Campus Security and the Jeffreysville police. Sometimes he will find himself caught in the crossfire between these two unacknowledged rivals in enforcement of the law. At other times he will seem almost to be thwarting the police investigation when his loyalty to his faculty colleagues prevents him from telling the whole truth. He also will find himself going out on his own in questionable attempts to follow his secretary''s advice to solve a crime by "knowing your victim." Not only will he end up knowing the victim, but he will learn a great deal about the lives of a number of the suspects, and there are a surprising number of these in the quiet Midwestern town and on the conservative campus of DeMott University! He also will find out a bit about himself, leaving him surprised and quite pleased. This book is not so much a typical murder mystery as it is a study of the people encountered in the story. The basic premise of the author is that people''s behavior is the result of the totality of the experiences of their lives. Such behavior may not be condoned, but it can be understood. And a campus in a small Midwestern town can be the scene of just as much irrational, aberrant, or immoral behavior as may a more urban environment. The setting gives the author opportunity to give the reader some insights into academic life on such a campus.

Florence, October 1966. The rain is never-ending. When a young boy vanishes on his way home from school the police fear the worst, and Inspector Bordelli begins an increasingly desperate investigation. Then the flood hits. During the night of 4th November the swollen River Arno, already lapping the arches of the Ponte Vecchio, breaks its banks and overwhelms the city.

"As much a crime novel as an authoritative travelogue and wine tutorial. . . an enjoyable read for Tuscany aficionados in particular." - Ambassador Magazine Filippo Trantino grows up in Tuscany and later moves to America, leaving his heart among the vines of his family's wine estate. After he returns home for a funeral, his cousins convince him that his grandfather's death was no accident. While solving the crime, Filippo travels the pastoral landscapes of Tuscany, indulging in the area's most delicious wine and food, and discovers the life he was always meant to live. This is the large print edition of A Death In Tuscany, with a larger font / typeface for easier reading.