Italian Crime Fiction

Auntie Poldi, sassy, brassy, and 60, moves to Sicily for a quiet alcohol-fuelled retirement. A murder spoils her plans. This is the first novel in a charming new mystery series set in Sicily and laced with Italian sensuality and humor. It features an amateur sleuth, the sassy and foul-mouthed Auntie Poldi. Recently widowed Poldi moves to Sicily in order to quietly drink herself to death with a sea view, but fate intervenes. When she finds the corpse of a young man on the beach, his face blown off with a sawn-off shotgun, she becomes a potential suspect in his murder case.

I’ve always gotten what I wanted—by force if necessary. Five years ago, I took Valentina’s virginity and left her behind, never looking back. She was just a means to an end, or so I thought. Now, our families are forcing us into an arranged marriage, and I’ll finally make her mine. But Valentina’s hiding more than just her defiance. There’s a secret she’s kept—a child I never knew existed. When I find out she’s pregnant again, my world shifts. For the first time, I want something more than power. I want her and the family she’s kept from me, and I’ll do whatever it ...

She’s the enemy’s daughter, but I’ll burn the world to make her mine. When you’re born into a powerful Mafia family, you learn that control is everything. And love? It’s just another weakness. But then she walked into my life: Carlotta D’Amici. Fierce and sassy, wrapped in the kind of curves that could bring a man to his knees. I saved her once, and now she’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. Our families have been at war for decades, so getting close to her is dangerous. But her eyes hold a secret that keeps me coming back for more. Tangled up in a world she can’t ...

I'm a mafia man who lives for power and family. My past has made it so love isn't an option. Which is why some say I don't have a heart. A client who owes a substantial debt to me has disappeared. Sitting in his restaurant, I'm greeted by a woman who's a real spitfire. She doesn't care that I'm Franco DeLuca a made man. After a few more verbal exchanges things take a dark turn. She becomes my captive. During the time spent under my roof together the lines get blurred. Because of my dark past I keep telling myself I don't want anything to progress between us. She's testing my limits. She ...

My main priority as the mafia boss is protecting my queen. When I first laid eyes on Lexis as a boy those dark brown eyes and her pretty brown skin drew me in. I had to meet her. Get close to her. Remain close to her. We became best friends. I consoled her when she felt abandoned by her mother. My father dropped a bomb in my lap when I was sixteen. I learned I’d become the next mafia boss of the Esposito’s. Dad said I needed to let her go. Her grandmother told her to run away from me and don’t look back. She had no idea I sank my teeth into the mahogany beauty a long time ago. She’s...

Nestled high in the Tuscan hills lies Villa Volpone, home to renowned crime writer Jonah Moore and his creative writing course. It’s also the last place retired DCI Dan Armstrong expected to spend his retirement! Dan’s no writer, but maybe this break will help him to think about the next chapter in his own life story? But only days into the course, Jonah Moore is found stabbed to death with his award-winning silver dagger! And Dan finds himself pulled out of retirement with a killer to catch.

The woman who was my childhood best friend and is now mine would never walk away. So, I thought. Why did she leave? Lexis and I had a wonderful life together. We were best friends growing up and later lovers. My brother Marco and I are the bosses of the Esposito crime family. Lexis ran one of many Espositos’ gambling houses. She didn’t take anyone’s mess. I loved how tough she was. And that she was mine. Five years later, after Mom mentioned her name at a holiday dinner, I thought about Lexis long and hard. It was time to find the woman I loved and bring her home. Warning this book ...

I'm employed by Lucas Esposito Jr., the infamous mafia boss of the Esposito Crime Family. His girlfriend Lexis disappeared while I was on duty. During my search, I've taken up residence in a three-star hotel on Chicago's North Side. While I should keep my focus on my task at hand, this vixen somehow managed to slip her way into my life. Will our connection prove to be a fleeting flame or an unbreakable bond?

I thought I knew the game. I was wrong. My father's empire is crumbling. Our allies are turning against us. And the woman I love might be our downfall. I'm caught in a web of lies and betrayal. Every move I make could be my last. Trust is a luxury I can't afford. But the truth? The truth might destroy us all. There's a rat in our family. The feds are closing in. And a secret that could change everything. I have to choose: Loyalty to my blood, Or a chance at redemption. The clock is ticking. The stakes have never been higher. And I'm running out of time. Who will survive when the dust ...

Count Falier urges his Venetian son-in-law Guido Brunetti to investigate, and preferably intervene in, the seemingly innocent plan of the Count's best friend, the elderly Gonzalo Rodriguez de Tejada, to adopt a much younger man as his son. Under arcane Italian inheritance laws this man would then be heir to Gonzalo's entire fortune, a prospect Gonzalo's friends find appalling. Then Gonzalo unexpectedly, and literally, drops dead on the street, and his good friend Berta Dodson, just arrived in Venice for the memorial service, is strangled in her hotel room.

A one-night stand lands her in the middle of a mafia war. Rachael’s brand of innocence is as refreshing as it is alluring. Rarely do I meet someone who doesn’t know the Moran name. I’d love to keep her in the dark, but unfortunately my enemies have other plans. Let my little rabbit run. There’s nowhere she can go that I won’t follow, and not even a bullet is going to stop me. She’s mine to claim, mine to own, and mine to protect. A sexy stranger, one night of passion, no complications. That’s all Vonni was ever supposed to be. Now there’s no avoiding him, not even in my new ...

"Little Italy Murder" is a gritty crime novel set in the heart of New York City during the dark days of the early 20th century. Witness the birth of organized crime and the infamous "Black-Hand" society as they sew terror into NYC's Italian-American community.The plot unravels amidst urban grime, when on April 14, 1903, a mutilated body tucked into a barrel is discovered on East Eleventh Street, sparking the beginning of citywide panic. What follows is an in-depth exploration into the depths of the Black-Hand gang's heinous activities, led by brutal mafia leaders, Giuseppe Severin and ...

When Dan Armstrong is asked to provide security at a private villa on the outskirts of Pisa, he’s pretty sure it will be an easy job. Villa Gregory is remote; the gathered guests are rich – what could possibly go wrong? Inside the high walls of the palatial villa, Dan discovers the gathered guests are some of the most powerful tycoons in the media world, with plans for world domination. With so much at stake, Dan redoubles his efforts to keep everyone safe. But when one of the group is found murdered, Dan’s heart sinks – especially considering Anna’s own daughter is in the frame.

Mission: get close to a mafia heir, not get pregnant with his baby. I stepped into his world as a challenger in a street race. Dario Marchetti, known as an unstoppable predator on the asphalt, is dangerous, alluring and the heir of the Marchetti Empire. My mission’s clear: infiltrate the mafia and bring them down. But as the engines revive, one look into his dark eyes and I know I’m in trouble. I’m inches away from victory when he almost runs me over the edge. He rescues me before the car slips into the abyss, and I’m gone with the wind. Then a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ...

Early one morning, Silvio Lupanello, a big shot in the village of Vigata, is found dead in his car with his pants around his knees. The car happens to be parked in a rough part of town frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers, and as the news of his death spreads, the rumors begin. Enter Inspector Salvo Montalbano, Vigata's most respected detective, who has his doubts about the way Silvio died.

Hot Mr. Scrooge is my neighbor. Hope The man loathes Christmas. What person doesn’t warm up to the best holiday of the year? The cabin I purchased mentioned it needed light work, not a gut renovation. Looks nothing like the picture. The brooding beast next door said he’d help spruce up the place if it will get me to leave him alone. Deal. Because who wants to be around the Grinch longer than they have to? Even if he’s tall. Has a gorgeous face you can stare at all day. And a body you’d love to mount on your sleigh repeatedly. Then I wondered could I help Mr. Non-Christmas ...

Sacrificing one night with a ruthless Mafia Don was meant to save my family. Until his brother, Vito, captured my heart and ignited a war. Vito Vitali is Sin City's ultimate catch. Rich, dangerously handsome, and a god among men. He's the forbidden temptation I can't resist, Dominating both the Vegas Strip and my every thought. One night with his devilish brother was not only to clear my family's debt, It was my chance to uncover the truth behind my father's murder. Instead, it threw me into the arms of Vito, Sparking a fierce battle for loyalty and love. As Vito and I drew closer, his ...

Morris Duckworth teaches English to the pampered rich of Verona, and Morris is not pleased. Living a meager existence in a squalid apartment, he regards his privileged students with envy and disdain, first wreaking revenge by petty theft and then, like all good criminals, graduating to grander larceny. When one of those students, a beautiful but vapid heiress named Massimina, falls in love with him, Morris can almost smell upward mobility.

Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories is a brilliant collection of short stories, personally chosen by Andrea Camilleri, following Inspector Montalbano from his very first case in Vigàta, in which he stumbles upon a young girl lurking outside a courthouse with a pistol in her handbag. When she is taken in for questioning and won't utter a single word, Montalbano must find another way to learn whom she is trying to kill and why.

I was sent to kill the Mafia Don. I never expected to fall for him. In the darkest corners of the world, I'm known as the Huntress: The world's deadliest assassin. Finding a golden arrow on my last mission, I take it as a souvenir. My next target: Vincenzo, a dangerous Mafia Don. Before I could complete the kill, the tip of the arrow penetrates my skin. Instantly, I see him in a new light. The way his eyes feast on every inch of my curves, like a hungry wolf, ready to devour its prey. His skin illuminates in the moonlight as his lips becomes my new target. My killer instincts vanish, giving...