Series: Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries #9
Publication Date: 03rd Nov 2024
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/murderinverona
Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215966823-murder-in-verona
Genre: Cozy Mystery
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Fun!
Book Blurb:
A tragic accident?
When Italy’s greatest opera singer, Rodolfo Argento,
is killed in a terrible car accident, the police initially ruled his death a
tragic accident or suicide. But his elderly mother, Violetta, believes this to
be poppycock! Her son was a brilliant driver and had too much to live for. She
suspects foul play and turns to Private Investigator, Dan Armstrong to discover
the truth.
A cheating spouse?
So Dan and Oscar travel to Verona, the city of Romeo
and Juliet, to find out what really happened. There, Dan discovers Rodolfo’s
private life could have come straight out of a Shakespeare play. Although now
happily married, Rodolfo was a man with a reputation to rival Casanova, his
past strewn with heartbroken women. Could his death have been a star-crossed
lover determined to get revenge?
A family feud?
Or does the truth lie much closer to home? With his
large inheritance still to be settled, the motive for Rodolfo’s murder could
simply be greed. As Dan searches for suspects while staying at the Argento
Opera Academy (where people randomly launch into operatic arias) life for Dan
is complicated by the fact that Oscar has a habit of joining in with the
singing…
Can Dan solve the case before he and his
tone-deaf dog get thrown out?
***
My Thoughts:
The story comes in Dan’s first-person POV.
The ninth book in the series works as a standalone (and so do the previous books). However, you will enjoy it more if you read at least one of the earlier books.
This time, Dan and Oscar, along with Anna, go to
Verona to enjoy an opera show and solve a crime. Dan is not a fan of opera nor
does he know anything about it. Will he be a convert by the end of the book?
Oscar meets another black Lab, Elektra, and falls in
love. Of course, he still has his priorities right – food comes first; always!
The mystery is decent but doesn’t have the same
tension as some of the previous ones. Of course, each case is different, so we
can’t really compare. This one is on the slower side with a lot of questioning
and trying to find the clues (makes sense since the death occurred almost a
month prior).
However, it took me a while to guess the killer, so
that’s good. I was weighing my options when a certain detail made me wonder and
connect the dots.
As always, we get a tour of the region, though this
time, it’s not much. Dan spends his time on the case, so there isn’t much left
for exploring. But… there is enough food and gelato to make you happy!
A few interesting themes are addressed using the
plot and the characters. While there are quite a few suspects/ characters
involved, it is easy to track them. Some of them have strong personalities.
To summarize, Murder in Verona is another
entertaining installment in the series and might appeal even more to opera fans
(as it mentions quite a few leading singers and tracks).
Thank you, Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood
Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about
the book.
#NetGalley
***
About the Author – T.A. Williams
I've written all sorts: thrillers, historical
novels, short stories and now I'm enjoying myself hugely writing romance and
whodunnits. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life
isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need
to embrace it. Murder mystery is all very well, but it needs to put a smile on
your face, so that's why I like to inject some humour.
Follow the Author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrevorWilliamsBooks/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/TAWilliamsBooks
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/TAWilliamsNews
Bookbub Profile: @trevorwilliams3
***
This has been a stop on the #MurderInVerona blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!
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