Murder on the Italian Riviera

Armstrong and Oscar, Book 7

De: T A Williams

Narrado por: Simon Mattacks

The next instalment in bestselling author T. A. Williams' Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series!

Another cozy crime series set in gorgeous Tuscany...It's murder in paradise!

An ex-con…

Private investigator Dan Armstrong is no stranger to working with criminals, but when he’s approached for help by Bianca Moretti, he’s on high alert. Bianca is intelligent and beautiful, and Dan likes her, but he also once sent her to prison…

A suspicious death…

Bianca explains that a guest has been found dead at her father’s luxurious and private retreat on the beautiful Italian Riviera. The police are sure the death is accidental, but Bianca is convinced the man’s been murdered. Dan’s sure he can get to the bottom of things…as long as Bianca is telling him the whole truth.

A very revealing case!

But when Dan arrives at the resort, he's in for a shock. He finds that the place is a naturist retreat, and everybody is walking around stark naked! Dan is determined to discover the truth, but this is going to mean revealing a whole lot more of himself than he expected.

Can Dan sniff out the truth about this case before Oscar's cold wet nose causes havoc?

A gripping murder mystery series by bestselling author T.A. Williams, perfect for fans of Death in Paradise, Lee Strauss and Beth Byers.

©2024 T A Williams (P)2024 Boldwood Books

This is the funniest!

excop, private-investigators, cozy-crime, friends, friendship, family, relationship-issues, relationships, labrador-dog, local-law-enforcement, murder, investigations, cooperation, Italy, naturists, audiobook, situational-humor, closed-circle-mystery, unpleasant-guests, unpleasant-suspect, unputdownable*****

Imagine the scene: retired copper turned PI and his black Lab discover that the scene of the apparent crime they are to investigate is a Naturist Retreat and Dan has to "blend in".
Dan had retired after 30 years in the Murder Squad at The Met and opened a PI agency on recommendation of an Italian Comisario after being an English translation consultant for a time. Dan still has good friends to help out with questions that can only be answered by British police.
While this is a cozy mystery, it is also something of a procedural because of personal involvement with the Polizia and his own history. This is the funniest in the series but the investigation is full of twists and red herrings adding up to one excellent read.
I bought the audio, and Simon Mattacks really nails all the characters and more!
#ArmstrongAndOscarCozyMysteriesBk7

Good, but not his best

Only 4 stars for this one. All others have been 5 stars but not this one. The main reason was that there were just too many characters/suspects that, at times, it became confusing as to who was who and I could not keep them all straight.
Still, book was entertaining and kept my interest the whole time, even if I was confused at times.
As always, narration was great.

Ran out of time?

In comparison to previous stories by this author this one seemed to wrap up a little suddenly without terribly substantial basis for the ultimate conclusion versus possible alternatives. The “scenery, landscape“ was also not as picturesque as other stories buy this author.
I expect it’s a little difficult to continually write a character in a series involved in murder mysteries with a that are not physically isolated away from the police, and for it not to appear a little awkward or contrived at times.
Nonetheless an entertaining enough read.

I liked it

This is definitely a formula driven series. It's a formula that works, the characters are entertaining, the mystery well thought out, but nothing outstanding. At this point in the series it is like spending the day with an old friend, that is why I continue to enjoy, and say it is worth a credit.