David P. Wagner’s seventh Rick Montoya Italian Mystery, To Die in Tuscany, finds the American interpreter caught up in murder again. However, it also finds him dining on sumptuous food and exploring the art treasures of Urbino. So, whether you read Wagner for the mystery, the food, or the artwork, you’re in luck.
Rick expects an easy weekend getaway, accompanying his girlfriend, Betta Innocenti, an art fraud investigator for the Italian Culture Ministry. He’s along with the flimsy excuse that she might need an interpreter who speaks Spanish when she meets with Manuel Somante. The Spaniard’s mother was Italian, and he has a drawing, reputed to be by Piero della Francesca, that he’s donating to a museum in his mother’s honor. But, a gardener finds Somante’s body in the local botanical gardens. The drawing is missing, so Betta is assigned to investigate the art theft.
When Rick and Betta report to the local police headquarters, they find an old friend assigned to the murder investigation, Inspector Alfredo DiMaio. Although it appears that Somante might have been killed for the piece of art, at the early stages of the investigation nothing can be taken for granted. Perhaps Somante was shot, and the killer just took the artwork, not knowing what it was. It’s up to the trio to look at local art collectors and Somante’s family to find the killer.
In the course of the investigation, it’s natural that Betta and Rick have the opportunity to visit museums and collectors, so there is a great deal of discussion of art. DiMaio is unfortunate because he has to deal diplomatically with the Spanish counsel, journalists, the family, and the director of the botanical garden, Salvatore Florio. Although Florio is a suspect, he provides the comic relief. He’s delighted to be part of a murder investigation. As a fan of Andrea Camilleri’s Montalbano mysteries, he has a number of theories about the case, all based on the fictional policeman’s cases.
Wagner manages to bring the mystery to a surprising, but logical, conclusion. However, along the way, readers can feel as if they too are indulging in all the food and wine of the region. And, in the end, they can read one more summary of all that decadent food in Wagner’s notes about food and wine. To Die is Tuscany is a feast for the senses.
David P. Wagner’s website is http://davidpwagnerauthor.com
If you’d like to see David P. Wagner discuss his work, check out the YouTube video of the virtual event with Wagner and Jeffrey Siger, https://youtu.be/y2bxQZdvj64
To Die in Tuscany by David P. Wagner. Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press, 2021. ISBN 9781464214332 (paperback), 272p.
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