Murder in Verona (An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery)

by T A Williams

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder in Verona is the ninth Armstrong and Oscar cozy destination mystery by T.A. Williams. Due out 3rd Nov 2024 from Boldwood books, it's 200 pages and will be 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 set in Tuscany. Expat former policeman Dan Armstrong and his trusty canine sidekick Oscar are sought out by the mother of a famous opera singer after a tragic accident cuts his life short. Dan's insights are valuable and he is dogged and adept at getting to the bottom of the lies and obfuscation to the truth.

The plotting is solid and the dialogue and characterizations are well written 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 long binge or buddy read (especially since they're all available on KU). 

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. There are also happy parallels to Rosenfelt's excellent Andy Carpenter series (though less sarcastic humor), with canine characters being given a significant role in the story.

Four and a half stars. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.