Murder on the Vine
Ex-NYPD homicide detective Nico Doyle investigates the murder of a local bartender in the Tuscan countryside.
On a late October Sunday morning in Gravigna, local maresciallo Perillo is having breakfast with ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle when he is called back to the station in Greve. Laura Benati, the young manager of Hotel Bella Vista, is worried—her bartender and good friend eighty-year-old Cesare Costanzi has been missing for three days.
The next morning, Jimmy, co-owner of Bar All’Angolo, Gravigna’s local café, where Nico is a frequent patron, runs out of gas on his way back from Florence. When Nico meets him to help, Nico’s dog, OneWag, reacts to the smell coming from Jimmy’s trunk. Inside Nico finds a body wrapped in plastic: Cesare Costanzi, stabbed several times in the chest.
Why would anyone kill Cesare, and how did he end up in Jimmy’s car? That’s for Nico to find out, as Perillo once again turns to Nico for help with the investigation.
PRAISE for the Murder on the Vine
“Trinchieri’s excellent third Tuscan mystery (after 2021’s The Bitter Taste of Murder) finds former NYPD detective Nico Doyle enjoying breakfast one Sunday morning at his rented farmhouse with his friends from the local carabineri station, maresciallo Salvatore Perillo and brigadiere Daniele Donato.
A distress call brings the policemen back to the station, where hotel manager Laura Benati reports that her 80-year-old bartender, Cesare Rinaldi, has been missing for three days. The next morning, Nico goes to the assistance of Jimmy Lando, co-owner of the Bar All’Angolo in Gravigna, after Jimmy runs out of gas on the road from Florence. Nico, with the help of his dog OneWag, discovers Cesare’s body in the trunk of Jimmy’s car. Nico, Perillo, and Donato try to figure out the links between Cesare’s murder, the dead man’s missing 1972 Ducati 750GTs, and the sale of prime vineyard properties. Rabelaisian feasts (“Fried polenta with sautéed porcini mushrooms, garlic and parsley”) provide seasoning as the action builds to a festive, celebratory bar gala.
Trinchieri makes crime solving adventuresome, fun, and flavorful. This is the best in the series so far. Bring on number four. “(Sept.)
—Publisher’s Weekly
PRAISE for the Tuscan Mystery series
“Just the ticket for anyone wanting to escape to Bella Italia with an engaging and entertaining mystery.”
—David Hewson, author of the bestselling Nic Costa series and The Garden of Angels
“With a simpatico protagonist, a cast of sometimes quirky characters, and the ever-present aromas of Tuscan dishes, what’s not to like?”
—David P. Wagner, author of the Rick Montoya Italian Mystery series
“If Agatha Christie had been Italian, she might’ve written a mystery like The Bitter Taste of Murder . . . This novel has a beautifully delicious, celebratory ending that made me want to return to Italy in the next installment of Camilla Trinchieri’s expertly written Tuscan Mystery series.”
—Gumshoe Review
“Lush with descriptions of wine country and filled with fascinating details of life in Italy, Murder in Chianti is the perfect read for all seeking an outdoors escape through fiction.”
—CrimeReads
“[A] vibrant mystery . . . 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.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An engaging procedural that introduces a delightful cast readers will want to spend more time with . . . The solution Trinchieri provides will surprise and satisfy.”
—Kirkus Reviews
The Bitter Taste of Murder
