Italian Rules by Tom Benjamin
When Hollywood comes to Bologna, La Dolce Vitaturns sweet murder...
A famous Hollywood director arrives in Bologna to remake a cult film and the city's renown cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original, only to discover it has disappeared. After English detective Daniel Leicester follows the trail of Love on a Razorblade to an apparent murder-suicide, he begins to suspect there may be more at stake than missing negatives – could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries? Together with a star from the forthcoming remake, Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system as a sinister network closes in and he learns some people are ready to kill for the ultimate director's cut.
About the author
Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna.
Review
‘Italian Rules’ is the fourth book in the Daniel Leicester series but you can easily pick this book up as a new reader. I have loved the whole series though and thoroughly recommend them! I was so excited to delve into this instalment and I wasn't disappointed. It has all the hallmarks of this series - good story, great writing and characters and the author's love for Bologna leaps off the page. This outing mixes Italy with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and Italian cinema and it was a pleasant and entertaining read.
When Hollywood director Indigo Adler arrives into the city to reshoot the Italian classic movie ‘Love on a Razorblade’ by director Tony Fausto, the local cinema archive decides to put on a showing of the original. However, when they went to the archive they found that the original negatives were missing. Daniel Leceister is brought in to figure out how they were stolen. But when they investigate they find a long line of dead bodies. Have they stumbled across something more serious and can Daniel protect the Hollywood actress who is to star in the remake from danger?
To me, this series is about the characters and that means Daniel’s family and also his assistant. They all bring different aspects to the team but manage to create this amazing investigative force. I can't wait until his daughter gets even more involved than she is at the moment! Also, the love of Italy and the depth of Tom’s love is a huge part of why I love these books as they make you feel as if you are being treated to insider tips of the city as if you were being shown around by a local. Which I suppose you are in a way!
The story in this book delves in the world of Italian cinema something which I don't know a lot about so it was fascinating to read about. I felt as if I was missing something though about the right-wing aspects of Italian history post WWII and I think some more explanation might be needed. There was a lot of reveals and misdirections in this story and it was pacy and entertaining to read! I am already looking forward to the next book!
Let me know if you pick this one up.
