Here we come #SeriesLove2025 still have many books to go in these 2 series. Also plan to work on Victoria Thompson‘s Gaslamp mystery series. Next book up Murder on Lenox Hill. Think my library has that one as an ebook!
pickInteresting short novel, the first of a trilogy, set in Italy just prior to the end of WW2. The story is a mystery, but what is far more interesting about Commisario De Luca‘s story is its setting, where Mussolini and fascism is on the verge of falling and the elite and other supporters are desperately attempting to build relationships to survive the upcoming transition. A fascinating slice of history wrapped in a mystery. #europacollective
panWhen the police hang up on a drunk teenager who claims to have found a body, Massimo Viviani, the owner of Bar Luma, accompanies him to confirm the existence of the body and gets drawn into the investigation due to the incompetence of the chief detective.
A not very interesting story, not helped by the fact that a lot of the time that for me at any rate it wasn't clear who was talking in the conversations. I won't be continuing in this series.
Wine and books. Hmm. I like the social aspects of this idea. A place to hang out, read and 🍷. My brain goes straight to spilling the wine. https://youtu.be/mBYn_l8Ik5A?si=33ZVgruFxAqYVHGs
pickI‘m learning Penelope Fitzgerald was a special writer. Fell in love with The Blue Flower earlier this year, and have now read this one - a bad good marriage in 1950‘s Florence with a doctor too rational to acknowledge his emotions. Ok, that‘s humble. Now hand it over to Penelope and her backhanded, almost absurd, striking lines. 🥰
Christmas shopping done. Time for #BooksAndBooze. Earned it.
pickThis has a completely far-fetched premise and a fairly predictable plot, but it was charming nonetheless—a quick read and a nice change of pace in the middle of a lot of heavier, longer, more drawn-out books on my list lately!
pickThis is a remarkable book and incredibly well researched. The author vividly describes centuries of Naples' tumultuous history of art, mythology, social and political upheaval, and violent revolution, interspersed with his own anecdotes of living in the city.
panThe plot? Where? The Bishop‘s Bedroom? What about it? Did I miss something? Most likely. Do I want to go meandering with these two misogynistic weirdos again? I‘m good, thanks. I literally grabbed this at the library because of the cover and the blurb on the back and boy did that pay off in no way whatsoever.
