The annual Chestnut Fair brings visitors from far and wide to the sleepy village of Trecchina. This year, one will be coming to die.The moment Vanda Riccardi makes the grisly discovery in the forest, a blow to the head knocks her cold. By the time rescuers find her, the corpse is gone. Did she really see it? The carabinieri are sceptical, but her friend Giò Brando – travel writer and reluctant … sceptical, but her friend Giò Brando – travel writer and reluctant amateur sleuth – is determined to believe her.
As Giò and Vanda delve deep into the past to unravel the mystery – a past that someone won’t hesitate to commit murder to keep hidden – in the perfumery run by Giò’s sister, Agnese, three very different customers are destined to choose the same scent – one with a disturbing backstory. Will the perfume reveal its secrets in time to prevent Vanda and Giò from becoming the killer’s next victims?
Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, M C Beaton, and lovers of Italy, will delight in this cosy mystery set against the dramatic backdrop of the Mediterranean coast. Dare you drop in to Agnese’s shop to find out what the perfumes say about you?
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A Fair Time For Death is the second book in the compelling and heartwarming An Italian Village Mystery series set in Maratea a quaint sea town in the south. Beware – the book is written in British English with a smattering of Italian here and there.
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In a nearby village, whilst out foraging for the chestnuts that the Fair she organizes is famous for, Vanda finds a dead body. And then all goes black for her.
When she comes to, she finds herself in hospital, having suffered from a “falling tree limb”. When she tries to tell them, no one believes Vanda actually saw a body – that somehow mysteriously disappeared – Gió is her only ally. And Gió is determined to prove that her friend was not hallucinating.
Follow Gió, Vanda, and Agnese – with help from Granny – as they tirelessly sift through the clues, trace history and push memories, till they come to the surprising conclusion.
Licio has crafted another intriguing tale and given her characters so much to work with. I literally zoomed through this one to the end. And am looking forward to Book Three, hoping there will be many more from this author.
A Fair Time for Death by Adriana Licio is the second An Italian Village Mystery. I enjoyed the authors lovely descriptions of Trecchina, Italy which transported me to the region. I could just imagine walking through the woods and picking up chestnuts. I thought A Fair Time for Death was well-written with interesting characters. The main characters are developed, and I like that we get know the locals. Gio Brando is busy working on her travel book and she has convinced inspectors from the Travel Writers’ Conference to visit Maratea. She is hoping they will consider Maratea as the site for the upcoming conference. Agnese, Gio’s sister, has a couple of unique customers at the perfumery. I like the clever game Agnese plays with her customers to help them find the right scent. When their friend, Vanda Riccardi stumbles upon a dead woman who then disappears, the sisters help her get to the truth. The mystery is intriguing with a variety of suspects. There are twists and suspense that will keep readers turning the pages. I recommend reading Murder on the Road before picking up A Fair Time for Death. It will give you the information you need on the main characters and the town. My favorite phrase from A Fair Time for Death is “I’m positive people will rediscover the joy of good reading.” A Fair Time for Death is a charming cozy mystery with cooking commotion, a fun fair, puzzling perfume picks, indolent inspectors, and bookstore buzz.
Once again, Licio has created a story with surprising twists and turns, making it tricky to predict the ending. My kind of murder mystery! Agnese continues to play a larger role in the stories (which I enjoy) and this time Granny even gets in on the action. 🙂
Nicely done, Ms. Licio.
I received an ARC; this is my honest review.
An entertaining mystery with a little added romance equals a great read!
After 15 years in London, Gio has returned to her hometown, a small village in Italy. Her breakup one month before her wedding with her fiancé of 10 years has left her a little apprehensive of finding a new love interest. Of course, she doesn’t have time for romance. Her friend is found unconscious in the woods then diagnosed with a concussion. Only Gio believes her statement that she found a dead body before being knocked unconscious with a tree branch. So the two friends decide they will prove there was a dead body and that a murder was committed. Gio enlists the aid of Paolo to help solve the crime. As the two friends conduct their private investigation they are faced with many twists and turns that escalate from dangerous to worse.
Adriana Licio expertly wove a tale of mystery and romance that had me guessing until the end. I highly recommend this fun read. I look forward to reading more in this series!
More excitement in picturesque Italy!
Giò is back to help solve yet another murder. Along with her family and friends they work diligently “along side” the authorities. She became involved after Vanda found a dead body in the woods. Being her normal inquisitive self, she soon becomes involved to the point of making trips to other cities to follow up on possible leads. I do have to warn you that there is a food fair, and you’ll almost be able to enjoy the smells. See if you can figure out who the murderer is before the end. I certainly didn’t.
A great book, the second in the series, from this Italian author who writes wonderfully in English and through her characters and scene description gives us a real feel for this particular part of Italy. The plot is well conceived and the ending exciting too (hint – the goat plays a part!). Agnese’s perfumes again play a role. Gio is still content without a boyfriend – but will romance catch her unawares?
Another trip to Italy!
I love the settings for this series. The gorgeous villages come to life with the wonderful descriptions. This book is set around the annual Chestnut Fair in neighboring Trecchina. Who knew all the things that chestnuts could be used for?! Vanda finds a body while searching for chestnuts…or does she? The police don’t believe her but her friend Giò does. Can they find the guilty party before they become the next victims? And I love the goat! You’ll need to read the story to find out about him!
I received an ARC but enjoyed the book so much, I purchased a copy!
I quite enjoyed this book, the second in the Italian Village Mystery series. The descriptions are marvelous and make you feel like you’re right there. I like that the characters are all believable and a little bit quirky. I believe that English is Ms. Licio’s second language, which makes the flow and dialog much more interesting to me. The story line is nice and twisty, hard to know who did it until right at the end.
I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.
I am so happy I discovered this author! This is a wonderful series! I love the colorful descriptions in this story that makes me want to visit Maratea and Trecchina! This book will capture your attention on the very first page! New interesting characters and lots of twists and turns! I did not expect the ending. Vanda discovers a body that disappears and Gio helps her in this mystery. Agnese has doubts about her abilities to choose the correct fragrance in her little game at her perfumery. A bossy student makes others feel incompetent at their booth at the fair, but things will change! I loved this book!
I loved this book! This is a terrific mystery that I couldn’t put down. It’s full of action, danger and suspense, twists and turns, and has an ending that really surprised me, is very enjoyable and entertaining 1 If you like mysteries, I highly recommend this one. It’s like taking a virtual vacation to Italy. The descriptions of the people, locations and activities, such as the Chestnut Fair. were so vivid that you could see them as though the book was a movie. At the end of the book is a glossary of Italian terms used in the story. Throughout the story, comparable positions police officers hold in Great Britain are given for the Italian police.
This is the 2nd book in the Italian Village Mystery series. The 1st is “Murder on the Road “, where you are introduced to family and friends. The two sleuths in the mysteries are Gio and Vanda. They work together to solve a murder that the Italian national police are having problems with. Agnese runs the family perfumery and is Vanda’s sister. Their Granny sounds like so much fun! Vanda ends up hospitalized with a concussion while she was in the forest gathering chestnuts. Did a falling branch knock her out, or did someone used the branch to knock her out? She had just found an older woman dead, obviously murdered, before losing consciousness. You will have to read the book to find out. Vanda and Gio endanger themselves, again, to find the killer of the older lady. I felt like I had gained Gio, Vanda and Agnese as virtual friends.
Adriana Licio is an Italian author who doesn’t have her books translated into English, she writes them in English. She lived in Scotland for six years, “,,,many years ago….” What’s so remarkable to me is how she thinks in English and writes in English so well. She knows human nature and writes about it so well.
I’m on the author’s Street Team of advanced readers and received an ARC.
This series is a real delight, it has an awful lot going for it, superb characters which are really well described and developed, great descriptions of the various locations in Italy where it is set and a clever and original mystery.
Gio is great as a central character, strong when she needs to be, rather headstrong as well, but equally she can still be conned, as happens in this book.
The mystery itself is very satisfying, and there are lots of twists and turns and a very surprising ending, the suspense is also ratcheted up especially towards the climax of the story. But what makes this series special, and unusual, are the ‘side stories’ frequently revolving around the perfumery but which add a real human side to the book as a whole, in this book I especially liked the the story of Ramya, the student cook.
If you love Italy, exciting cosy mysteries, believable characters or fascinating believable side stories then you really should consider this lovely series.
I did receive an advance copy of this book, but have voluntarily written this honest review.