Hardcover in very good condition. First UK printing. Contents are clean and clear. AM

Art of Killing Well

Malvaldi, Marco

MacLehose Press

Pellegrino Artusi, the great gastronome and amateur detective, is back.&nbsp; It is 1900 and Pellegrino's famed cookbook is in its fifth edition. Flushed from his fortune and success, our hero joins a weekend party at the Tuscan castle of the wealthy agricultural entrepreneur, Secondo Gazzolo.&nbsp; In this castle of winding corridors, secret passageways and clandestine meetings, Pellegrino finds a curious collection of guests, each with their own purpose for being there. But when one of the party is found dead in his locked bedroom, seemingly the victim of suffocation, it is up to Pellegrino and his old friend, the detective Ispettore Artistico, to solve what really happened, for the science of food is every bit as complex, rigorous and tantalising as the sublime art of investigation. A perfect "locked room mystery" that will have your brain and your tastebuds tickled. Translated from the Italian by Howard Curtis

Foul Deeds and Fine Dying: A Pellegrino Artusi Mystery

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Quercus Publishing

At the Bar Lume, in a small coastal resort near Livorno, between shots of espresso and hands of cards, four old-timers and Massimo, the barman, wile away the time chatting, arguing, and theorizing about the murder of a young woman in their town. The girl’s body was found in a dumpster bin on the edge of town. The victim’s now notoriously licentious lifestyle has everyone thinking that her death had something to do with the world of drug trafficking and dangerous sex that she inhabited. The prime suspects in the case are two of the girl’s nightlife associates. But out of love of gossip and just to pass the time, the group of old friends at the Bar Lume begin to pull the case to pieces, forcing the Barman Massimo into the role of amateur sleuth. Here is a victory for pensioners! The four old-timers analyze the crime and the suspects, contextualizing both, and in the process put a comic spin on their often narrow-minded neighbors. From this “investigation,” in Malvadi’s lively and colorful prose, emerges a fascinating picture of life in a small town that, for all its faults, stubbornly resists the devastation of mindless global tourism.

Game for Five (World Noir)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Europa Editions

When a Japanese scientist dies in a Tuscan resort town, four old card players and their favorite bartender investigate in this comic Italian mystery. In the Italian resort town of Pineta, along the Tuscan coast, one might find the sleepy Bar Lume inhabited by its owner Massimo and its elderly regulars engaged in a game of cards. But this is merely a cover for the true activities of this senile squad. In truth, they are at work analyzing, postulating, gossiping, and chronicling every event that occurs in their small Tuscan town, using the most colorful language and Tuscan slang possible. When a chemistry conference at a local hotel is interrupted by the suspicious death of a Japanese scientist, Massimo is obliged to investigate on behalf of his all-too-curious clientele. The old-timers provide running commentary, demonstrating a cunning for sniffing out lies that can only be honed through decades of playing three-card monte. The second book in Marco Malvaldi’s beloved Bar Lume series, Three-Card Monte is a comedy, a beguiling mystery, and a vivacious portrayal of small-town Italy.

Three-Card Monte (World Noir)

October 1493. Florence is still mourning the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Columbus’ ships have only recently reached the New World. The modern financial system has just come into being thanks to the adaption of the letter of credit. Meanwhile, Milan is experiencing a renaissance under the leadership of Ludovico il Moro. 
Those wandering in the courtyards of Milan’s Castle or along the Navigli canals often encounter a strange man in his forties, dressed long pink robes, his expression calm, like someone who is lost in his own thoughts. The man lives above his workshop, with his mother and a mischievous little boy whom he dotes on; he doesn’t eat meat, writes from right to left, and struggles to get paid by his employers. His name is Leonardo da Vinci. His fame extends beyond the Alps, to the French court of Charles VIII, whose envoys have been tasked with a secret mission that concerns Leonardo himself. It is rumored that the Italian inventor keeps his most daring designs―including perhaps the project for an invincible mechanical knight―in a notebook hidden under his robes, close to the heart. 
When a man is found dead in the Castle’s courtyard, il Moro turns to Da Vinci for help. Though the corpse shows no signs of violence, the death is highly suspicious: rumors of a plague or superstitious explanations need to be disproven quickly. Leonardo is in no position to refuse his master’s request to investigate. 
Five hundred years after Leonardo’s death, Marco Malvaldi combines literature, science, history, and crime to bring back to life one of the greatest figures of the Renaissance.

The Measure of a Man: A Novel of Leonardo da Vinci

Literature & Fiction

Literary

The Measure of a Man: A Novel about Leonardo da Vinci

Genre Fiction

Europa Editions (UK) Ltd

Ein königliches Theater

Piper Verlag GmbH

Die Schnelligkeit der Schnecke: Ein Toskana-Krimi

Im Schatten der Pineta: Ein Toskana-Krimi

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