The Road to Murder is the fourth book in the Tuscany Mystery Series by Camilla Trinchieri and features ex-NYPD detective turned amateur chef Nico Doyle who now resides in Gravigna, Italy.
Title: The Road to Murder
Author: Camilla Trinchieri
Series: Tuscan Mysteries #4
First Published: March 5, 2024
Publisher: Soho Crime
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher
*** Thank you to the publisher, Soho Crime, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Former NYPD detective Nico Doyle is finally settling into his new life in Gravigna, Italy – the locals have welcomed him and are giving him rave reviews on his cooking, and his budding relationship with a local woman is healing old wounds.
So when Nico receives a phone call late at night, he tries to ignore it as it could only mean trouble. Sure enough, it’s Perillo of the local carabinieri who convinces a reluctant Nico to assist him. The victim, Signora Nora, was found dead in her home, and the sole eye witness only speaks English. Perillo and Nico don’t have to look far for suspects. Nora Nora had a number of lovers, her two daughters aren’t on the best terms with her, and there’s a lot to be gained from the sale of her residence. Nico and Perillo have their hands full as they try to solve the murder and restore peace to the otherwise sleepy Gravigna.
An engaging and delicious murder mystery
One of the things that drew me into reading this book is definitely the setting. I’ve read a couple of murder mysteries set in Tuscany in the past year and every time I’m left with a yearning to go visit this beautiful landscape and indulge in the food and wine of the area. The Road to Murder is no exception. There are some very lovely descriptions of both the setting and the food that will transport the reader to the Italian landscape. I really felt like I was submerged in the story.
The mystery itself was engaging and smart very well-written. The pace was perfect and the story never lagged with a suitable number of suspects and motives and plot twists to keep the reader guessing. The author managed to make some of the suspects likable and you almost didn’t want them to be the guilty party.
And I definitely don’t recommend reading this book on an empty stomach. I was craving so many Italian dishes while reading this and there’s even a recipe for one of Nico’s most popular recipes included in the back that I’m going to try making soon!
A lovely cast of characters
I really enjoyed Nico as the main character and felt like I got to know him and several of the secondary characters very well in the span of one book. There are several relationships that are visited throughout the story, but the romantic pairings never take away from the murder mystery plot and add to the depth of the characters/
While this is already the fourth book in the Tuscan Mysteries, it’s my first time reading anything by Camilla Trinchieri. I almost always prefer starting a series from the first book, but I decided to give this one a go and I’m so glad I did. It reads perfectly fine as a standalone, although I did enjoy the characters so much that I’m going to go back and read the first three books in the series so I can see how they developed.
Quote from The Road to Murder
