Murder on the Italian Riviera (An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery)

by T A Williams

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder on the Italian Riviera is the seventh Armstrong and Oscar cozy destination mystery by T.A. Williams. Released 2nd May 2024 by Boldwood books, it's 252 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU. 

This is a beautifully descriptive and well written destination mystery mostly set in and around a naturist (nudist) retreat on the Italian Riviera. Expat former policeman Dan Armstrong and his trusty canine sidekick Oscar are again called on to untangle a local murder/accident, which soon escalates into direct danger to the intrepid duo. Dan's ostensibly along to facilitate translations in English for the police and witnesses, but his insights are valuable and he and the local official investigation work well together. 

The plotting is solid and the dialogue and characterizations are believable. The mystery, denouement, and resolution are self contained in this volume, so it works well enough as a standalone, but the writing is so engaging and immersive, that it would make an excellent weekend binge or buddy read. The author is exceptionally good at weaving (seemingly) extraneous information into the text. There's a lot of humor as well. The situations where Dan and Oscar are forced to shed clothing to blend in and interact with the locals are warmly and humorously described.

It's not derivative at all, but it reminded me in a lot of good ways of Leon's exceptional Brunetti books as well as Walker's lovely Bruno, chief of police books. Fans of those authors will find a lot to enjoy here.

Four and a half stars. Highly recommended. All of the books are exceptionally well written and fun. The author seems to be on a twice a year output schedule at the moment without sacrificing quality or length. Definitely one to watch develop. There's an 8th book due out in Aug 2024 from the same publisher.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.