Amazon.co.uk:Product Description
An entrancing story that is one of the most absorbing examinations of the English in Italy since A Room With A View. Set during one week in springtime Florence, A Party In San Niccolo follows the events leading up to the seventy-fifth birthday party for Frances Richardson, a much-loved English resident. Around her, Frances' friends are gearing up for the party too: Frank, a disenchanted journalist; Jane, who runs an Italian cookery school for rich Home Counties wives; her shady husband Niccolo; and Gina, a beleaguered mother-of-three who has come to Florence for a break. Before the week is out love, death, family secrets and old memories will come to a head at Frances' party, with dramatic results...

This is a thriller with a realistic Italian background, although as first published in 2003 there are a couple of points that remove it from the 21C and the Italy that we know. The lira is no longer the currency and the wave of immigrants, although still a big problem, as I expect many of you reading this are aware, will often be of different nationalities to those featured. The depth of description of the ex-pat community in Florence reminds me in some ways of A Room With A View, although this is much more detailed and not set in 1908 but modern days. The author clearly knows and loves Florence and is not afraid to write about the drugs, corruption and prostitution that are part of the city and I suppose most big cities in the world these days. As far as I understand though Florence is not generally a dangerous place, just maybe a bit rough around the edges. She also describes beautifully the countryside outside Florence, in Tuscany and the Maremma, including Thermal Springs to be found in the countryside that I have enjoyed bathing in myself if not the particular ones described.

A week in the springtime in Florence, what could be a better way for Gina Donovan to unwind from the pressures of family life while visiting an old friend from university. Gina’s holiday turns out to be not at all the week of relaxation that she was anticipating as through her we meet the motley cast of characters that form part of the expat community. The main ones are Jane her university friend, who runs a cookery school, her successful architect husband Niccolo who has English and Italian parentage plus his daughter Beatrice. The aristocratic Frances a widow in her seventies is a character central to the story as is her Birthday party that is planned for the end of the week. Frank is the journalist within the community, although not a terribly successful one and young Ned, Beatrice’s boyfriend.

The plot is complex with many other characters besides the few I have mentioned. Within the first few pages we learn of the two murders but it is only the second body that is discovered immediately. Before the end of the week not only death but love,memories and secrets will all have intruded on Gina’s time in Italy. I think that is enough information to have tempted you if you like the sound of a murder mystery in an Italian setting. There is enough suspense skilfully built into the story that kept me turning the pages to make this a very quick and entertaining read.

En route to Somebirds in Trieste, Italy.

Dear Finder of this book,

I'm so glad it has found a home with you. I hope you enjoy reading it and that you might take a few moments to jot down here what you thought about the book, or about finding it, or about bookcrossing.

You don't have to join or sign up or anything to bookcrossing to leave a comment here but if you do join, you will receive emails to alert you when others make a journal entry for this book and track its travels across the world. If you decide to join bookcrossing, now that you have discovered the site, I'd be delighted if you would mention me - LindyLouMac - as the person who introduced you to the site.

Happy reading

LindyLouMac