Murder in Portofino (An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery)

by T A Williams

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder in Portofino is the eighth Armstrong and Oscar cozy destination mystery by T.A. Williams. Released 1st Aug 2024 by Boldwood Books, it's 247 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 time, expat former policeman Dan Armstrong and his trusty canine sidekick Oscar are again drawn into helping solve a missing persons case in beautiful Portofino. Dan's ostensibly along to facilitate translations in English for the police and witnesses, but his insights are valuable and he and Oscar are, as always, central to the story.

The plotting is solid and the dialogue and characterizations are well controlled and believable. The mystery, denouement, and resolution are self contained in this volume, so it works well enough as a standalone, but the writing and mystery are so well planned and executed, that it would make an excellent binge or buddy read. 

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.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.