Even the most wonderful places in the world aren’t spared from horrendous crimes.

Synopsis

Murder in broad daylight…

When millionaire magnate, Rex Hunter is found with his head bashed in on the eighth hole of his prestigious golf and country club in beautiful Chianti, it’s a clear case of murder. Hunter was rich and successful and the envy of many, so retired DCI Dan Armstrong thinks the case will be a hole in one to solve….

A despised victim…

But as Dan and his trusty sidekick Oscar begin to dig deeper into Hunter’s lifestyle, they discover a man despised by many. A renown womaniser, ruthless boss and heartless family man, it seems no one is particularly sorry to see Hunter dead. And the list of possible suspects is endless…

A murderer covering their tracks.

Dan is determined to catch this clever killer, but it seems every new lead brings another dead end. Will this be one case Dan and his canine companion won’t solve?

My review

Even while enjoying his retirement in Tuscany, DCI Dan Armstrong has a sense of justice. So when millionaire magnate Rex Hunter is murdered on his golf club, Dan doesn’t hesitate to help out again the local forces.
Together with his loyal canine friend Oscar, Dan discovers that there were more people despising than loving the victim, as Rex Hunter was a known womanizer, a bully as a boss and absolutely not a great family man…
With the list of possible suspects only getter longer by the day, Dan is determined to find the real culprit, even when his own personal matters demand his attention… 

When a beloved author switches genres, it’s always a risk. Because you’ll never know if the new story and genre will be as great as what you have known.
But as this being the second part of a series, I knew even before I started how much I would love this next chapter! And no, I am not biased at all as an Italian! 😊 

Whenever I am reading a mystery, from the cozy type to the more terrifying ones, I always try to figure out myself who the culprit is. And with having often innocent victims, or at least likeable victims, it’s easy to sympathize with the remaining family. 

But I can say with a clear conscious that perhaps Rex Hunter is the kind of person the world won’t miss….
Whatever he doing, from being a father, a husband to just paying golf, he only looked after himself. He wanted the best for him, and losing wasn’t a word in his dictionary. Also the way he behaved towards his own family, or women in general, made me despise the man even more.
However, being murdered isn’t something he deserved… 

What I liked about this story, is how well Dan integrated in the Italian lifestyle. He truly did well adapt into a new life, has made a lot of new great friends, and is a great owner to Oscar. And I also liked it how, even if he is retired, the being a DCI is still in his blood. 

And obviously this amazing author used his magic again, making me feel like I was wandering in Chianti myself. It took a lot of my restraint of not opening a good wine while reading! Or perhaps it were the many twists the author threw, as I kept on being surprised with new revelations (and not all of the good kind), making me question every character. I couldn’t figure out who the murderer was, kept changing my mind at the time. 

T.A. Williams managed to find the perfect balance between the heavy duty of finding a murderer and the lighter moments. And that made this book so easy to read. While I wanted to discover the truth, I also wanted to just walk along Dan and his friends, cuddle with Oscar and enjoying the amazing beauty of Tuscany, with a nice glass of wine. 

I had high expectations, but I already knew beforehand that this story wouldn’t end up in disappointment! And I cannot wait to see what else there is in store for Dan and Oscar!