Instead of escaping reality to this fantastic city, this city of phantoms, I was rushing towards it – hard fate awaited me in this soupy shade of a place…
In the oppressive heat of summer in Bologna, English detective Daniel Leicester is reliving his beloved wife Lucia’s final days. Vivid memories have been awakened by the sight of her bicycle, missing since the accident that killed her, ridden by a stranger through the city’s tight medieval streets.
As unfinished business bleeds – quite literally – into the present, the sickening realisation that Lucia’s death wasn’t accidental dawns on Daniel. He embarks on a quest for the truth, and this most personal of crusades leads him to two contrasting worlds: the secretive, ancient realm of freemasonry, and the revolutionary ‘Reclaim Bologna’ activist movement.
What links these two opposing factions? Is there a chance Lucia wasn’t the woman Daniel believed her to be? And will the truth be too painful, or too perilous, to bear?
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Bologna Vendetta by Tom Benjamin today. Many thanks to Little Brown and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me, and for sending me a copy of the novel.
The Bologna Vendetta is the sixth book in Tom Benjamin's Daniel Leicester series. It's not necessary to have read the previous books but the development of Daniel's character is a key element in the series so I would recommend reading them if possible. That said, this instalment includes chapters set in the past, which give readers an insight into Daniel's life with his wife Lucia, before her tragic death and so isn't a bad place to start.
It is the height of summer and while many of Bologna's residents have fled the stifling city, leaving the heat to the tourists, Daniel Leicester remains. The English detective has been engaged by the Contessa di Castiglione to monitor a woman she says may be having an affair with her friend's husband. It's while following Nancy Bonelli that Daniel spots the Raleigh bicycle which once belonged to his wife, Lucia but went missing after she was tragically killed in what Daniel has always believed to have been an accident. As he determines to claim the bicycle back, he begins to question whether he really knows the truth about her death but he risks opening old wounds and making upsetting new discoveries. Daniel's very personal investigation brings him into contact with a group of activists known as Reclaim Bologna but as he recalls aspects of his life with Lucia, he also remembers both his involvement in a corporate corruption case and his dealings with a mason whom he and Lucia tried to help many years previously.
Lucia's presence has always been felt in the previous novels but here we finally meet the woman whose love and then absence has shaped so much of Daniel Leicester's life. His early years in Bologna challenged them both and from Lucia's fiery response to learning more about his past to Daniel's reliance on alcohol as he struggles to find his place in Bologna, it's fascinating to see the reality behind the romantic memories of a marriage tragically cut short.
The Bologna Vendetta explores a different side to the medieval city and is teeming with secrets. As the past and present collide, Daniel is drawn into a tangled, clandestine world of freemasons, unscrupulous officials and a small but determined group whom many consider to be terrorists. The twisty, suspenseful plot is intricately balanced throughout and there are some surprising revelations alongside the poignant exploration of Daniel’s memories.
As the chapters switch between past and present, the cleverly observed contrast between Daniel gradually becoming more Italian while Bologna loses its identity as the tourist trade and the rise in short-term holiday leases prices the locals out of the housing market is ironic. Tom Benjamin's vivid descriptions of the city are always a highlight and the sweltering heat is an atmospheric, claustrophobic backdrop to the intense, complex storyline.
This brilliant series is consistently unmissable and The Bologna Vendetta is no exception; intriguing, intelligent and thoroughly compelling, it's the best yet! Highly recommended.
The Bologna Vendetta is published by Little Brown, purchasing links can be found here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
%20copy%206.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment