Discover Italy's bewitching region of Puglia with the seventh Daniel Leicester mystery, the most propulsive yet . . .
English detective and Bologna resident Daniel Leicester has been summoned by a dying relative to the wildest corner of Puglia, home to revered saints, fearsome mafia clans, hidden catacombs and sinister ceremonies.
As Daniel discovers that his Italian family's history runs deep in the veins of the region, old grudges resurface, superstitions awaken and he is drawn into a case of stolen antiquities. But when a contact is murdered by mobsters, it's clear that mafia rule is more powerful than local mysticism.
Lured by magic but trapped by the mob, Daniel is unable to return to his beloved Bologna. His family is bound to Puglia more tightly than he ever imagined, and powerful people want answers he can't give.
And when Daniel's daughter is snatched during a Holy Week procession, he sees first-hand just how far they're prepared to go . . .
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Old Bones in Puglia by Tom Benjamin today. Many thanks to Little Brown for my copy of the novel and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.
Daniel Leicester is an English private detective working in Bologna but in this seventh book in Tom Benjamin's series, he leaves behind the Red City, ostensibly for a holiday in Puglia with his daughter, Rose, his father-in-law, Giovanni Faidate – known to all as the Comandante – and Dolores, his assistant. It isn't necessary to have read the other books in the series and while there are mentions of earlier events, this novel is probably one of the best to enjoy as a standalone. It is quite different in tone to the earlier novels but still as richly immersive as I've come to expect from a Tom Benjamin book.
The Comandante has suggested the trip to visit the ailing sister of his late wife but Daniel realises he will also want to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Pio, in the same town where he became devoted while serving a young police officer in the area. It quickly becomes clear that the family all have ties to the wild Gargano region of Puglia; Daniel's late wife, Lucia renovated and refurbished the house in Pietrina that was bought by the Comandante after his marriage to Maria, who came from the even smaller town of Congrega. It's evident from the opening paragraph that dangerous times await them and Daniel's description of the 'kind of malevolent spirit that had fled the rationalising, industrialising forces of wild Italy to skulk among the nation's wildest crevices, waiting to kill or be killed.' brings a chilling sense of foreboding to the novel.
While Rose and Dolores take themselves off to go camping, Daniel and Giovanni are drawn into a mystery involving fake Daunian pottery. It would seem to be the sort of case that would be bread-and-butter to the private investigators but missing people, local superstitions, gambling dens and a murder connected to the local Mafia mean this is far more complicated – and dangerous – than Daniel, in particular, could ever have guessed. However, early in proceedings there are also some humorous scenes, most notably involving a lifelike statue which leads to Daniel inadvertently passing on a curse, which means the rapid change in their fortunes is even more alarming.
Daniel is more of an outsider than ever here and it makes him vulnerable but the Comandante's history in the area still has people, particularly women, bearing grudges against him and then when Rose disappears, it's terrifyingly obvious that nobody is safe. This is less a Faidate investigation than a reckoning from the past and a stark reminder that this strange, rocky outcrop of southern Italy is something an Englishman can never fully understand. As events build towards the nailbiting climax, the tension becomes unbearable, especially when the family are forced to face an impossible dilemma.
The creeping suspense is complemented throughout by the superbly atmospheric sense of place. Tom Benjamin usually leaves me desperate to visit Bologna but although his descriptions of Gargano are utterly fascinating, readers are left in no doubt that some areas are best left to the communities who live there and who understand the land, its history, its beliefs and its ancient magic… Old Bones in Puglia is an irresistibly absorbing, addictive read and possibly my favourite in the series to date. Very highly recommended!
Old Bones in Puglia is published by Constable, an imprint of 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