Rick Montoya has moved from New Mexico to Rome, embracing the life of a translator. He’s settling in to la dolce vita when a school friend who is now senior in the Italian Art Squad recruits Rick for an unofficial undercover role. Armed with a list of galleries, suspects, and an expense account, Rick would arrive in Tuscany posing as a buyer for a Santa Fe gallery and flush out burial urn … urn traffickers.
But before sunset on Rick’s first day in Volterra, a gallery employee dies in a brutal fall from a high cliff.
The local Commissario and his team consider Rick an amateur, and worse, a foreigner. And now they suspect him in the dead man’s murder. While the Volterra squad pursues its leads, Rick continues to interview his list: a museum director, a top gallery owner, a low-profile import/export businessman and his enterprising color-coordinated assistant, and a sensuous heiress with a private art specialty and clientele.
When Rick’s girlfriend Erica arrives from Rome to visit him, she rekindles a friendship with an alluring, maybe dangerous, acquaintance. Has Rick’s role made him the target of both cops and criminals?
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Enjoyed the wine information at the end ~ entertaining!
Powerful story. Interesting mystery with a surprise solution. The best part of this story is the two cultures presented by the protagonist Rick, who is equally at home in Italy where the story takes place or the U.S. Southwest where he is from. Another fascinating part of the story is how Italians perceive themselves as least a much from a region (I’m Tuscan; I’m Roman.) as from a nation. Great book; I couldn’t put it down.
Never been to Italy, but enjoyed this mystery set in Tuscany.
A trip to Italy as you try to solve a mystery. What fun. Great, descriptive writer. Made me want to learn about other regions in Italy.
A good informative read about materials used for some of the ancient arts.
This book held my interest, informed me about Tuscany and Etruscan artifacts, and let me fall asleep at night puzzling over whodunnit. What more could i ask? I enjoyed the plot and the amusing sub-plot of the American couple. Looking forward to trying the next in the series.
My only quibble: just how many Huge Men live in Volterra? Hmmm
Wagner gives us an unlikely hero and an unusual villan. Description of Volterra is more realistic than the typical Tuscan village. The characters are more vivid and, in my opinion, more true to life than I expected.
The plot twists had me going. Is it this one or that one? It turned out to be neither! Really enjoyed the story!
I enjoyed reading about italy.
I could actually picture the different sites and foods of Italy when I read the book. It was very vivid and the story kept my interest from the first page.
I enjoyed learning about Italian history while reading a current story.
R. Wagner stories just get better and better.
I would love to go here….someday…without murder and violence. Really loved the book. Italians can be so hard to understand….this book helped.
Loved it and the descriptions of Italian meals will leave you drooling and wishing you were eating them. Good character development.
Interesting read – couldn’t predict the ending! Really enjoyed the book!
A good read. Interesting characters and well thought out plot without profanity or gratuitous sex or violence. I liked it.I will
Gives a real sense of place…like a small vacation to Tuscany.
Introduction to historic Tuscan town as setting for intriguing mystery.
Well done! I’d like more with this character.
Interesting characters
Good story liked the feel of Tuscany