A quick easy read, and fun :)4 s JulieAuthor 5 books223

Once again a well plotted story that keeps the reader engaged. Add in the wonderful Italian ambiance, the stunning food and a murderer on the loose that is a bit too close to home for our retired detective, then you have a winning combination. With all the suspects confined to the villa, in an Agatha Christiesque denouement, Dan has to eliminate them one by one. With time running out, his desperate plan puts his own life at risk. Excellent read.
4 s Wendy(Wendyreadsbooks) Robey1,117 64

Another clever murder mystery with the cracking team of Dan and Oscar. As with the other books in the series, this combines the wonderful humour of the relationship between Dan and his lab, with the intrigue of murder in the beautiful setting of the Italian countryside. The mystery this time surrounds the meeting of the great and rich - none of whom sound particularly able - at a secure country villa. Why are they meeting there, what are the business discussions about and who thought to bring these different characters together under the same roof?
A thoroughly enjoyable read and I’m looking forward again to seeing what Dan and Oscar get up to next. 3 s Grace J Reviewerlady1,911 91

I love this series more and more with every one I read!

Dan Armstrong, Private Investigator, is fully settled in his new life in Italy. Approached to provide security at a top secret meeting at a private villa close to Pisa, he sets off with his labrador, Oscar, to do a full search of the house and grounds. The arrival of the guests reveals some of the major players in high finance and Dan redoubles his efforts to keep everything and everyone safe and protected. However, someone is murdered and the local police don't appreciate Dan's offer of help. The inspector's ineptitude goes from bad to worse and it's left to Dan - and Oscar - to pick up the pieces . . .

I've been a fan of Trevor Williams' writing for a good number of years, none more so than this mystery series. As a fellow labrador lover, the inclusion of Oscar is the icing on the cake for me. He eases the path for Dan in so many ways and, delightfully, exhibits all the best lab traits. Filled with an array of characters which give much food for thought, this is an enigmatic mystery with several laugh-out-loud moments and fabulous descriptions of Italian food! I had no idea 'whodunnit' until they were revealed on the page. A great read, one I thoroughly enjoyed and, as always, I look forward to reading more about Dan and Oscar's exploits. My highest recommendation and a full five shining stars!2 s Srivalli RekhaAuthor 16 books456

Publication Date: 06th Feb 2024

4 Stars

One Liner: Entertaining as always

Dan Armstrong is asked to provide security for a private villa on the outskirts of Pisa. Villa Gregory is beautiful and large. Still, Dan thinks it should be easy enough to handle the situation. What could go wrong when the ultra-rich meet?

Everything.

His girlfriend’s daughter works for one of the guests and isn’t too keen about Dan. Moreover, one of the guests is murdered. With pressure mounting, Dan (and Oscar) need to solve the case and try to prevent more murders while staying alive.

The story comes in Dan’s first-person POV.

My Thoughts:

This is one of my comfort-read cozy mystery series. This time, Dan and Oscar go to a villa on the outskirts of Pisa. While the tower makes an appearance only once, the setting is beautiful enough to make me happy.

Despite being the sixth book in the series, it works as a standalone. There is a necessary backstory without too much info dump. The connections between characters are mentioned in a couple of lines without distracting the reader from the plot.

Ocsar is his best again. This cute black Lab dons many hats. He has to impress people, explore the surroundings, comfort people when they feel sad, and save lives if necessary. He manages it all and more while doing more than full justice to his love for food.

The mystery is compact. While I could guess the killer, it was fun to know how the reveal would happen. There are enough clues and a couple of red herrings, along with a list of suspects, to keep guessing.

The pacing is better, too! This one is slightly faster than the previous books. I won’t call it fast, but it is steady and not slow.

Virginia, Anna’s daughter, is an interesting character. I hope we get to meet her occasionally in the coming books. I missed Trisha in this one.

Naturally, we are introduced to new police characters in this one. The one in charge of the case is a specimen, but the other is smart, sweet, and efficient. Of course, justice is served, so all ends well!

To summarize, Murder at the Leaning Tower is entertaining. It ensures the series continues its momentum. Enjoy the setting, food, and the mystery!

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley #MurderAtTheLeaningTower
2024 2024-net-galley-challenge arcs ...more43 s32 comments MaryAnne20 19

Murder at the Leaning Tower is the 6th book in T.A.Williams' Armstrong and Oscar series of cozy mysteries. These are, for me, the coziest of cozy mysteries. There is, of course, always a murder to be solved, and figuring out who is the killer is always fun; but it's the other elements of the series that make these books especially pleasurable: the lovely Tuscan setting, the many descriptions of delicious food, the excellent narration by Simon Mattacks, and an irresistible Labrador retriever named Oscar. Oscar is a worthy sidekick to private detective Dan Armstrong, who has traded in the hectic life of a homicide DCI with Scotland Yard for what he expects to be a peaceful semi-retirement in beautiful Tuscany, only to find himself still tracking down murderers. One of the things I most about the series is Armstrong's character. There's a kind of humility to him that is unusual in the genre; he just seems a decent guy who is aware of his shortcomings and the mistakes he's made in the past and is trying to be a better and more thoughtful man.
In Murder at the Leaning Tower Dan is hired to do basic security for a secret meeting of high-powered financiers, only to have one of them end up dead. Although this is a pretty basic formula for a whodunit, Dan has a personal concern in addition to his professional role of solving the murder: one of the people attending the conference is the daughter of Ana, the woman Dan has been dating for several months. Dan has never met Virginia, but knows that she strongly disapproves of his relationship with her mother, and the conference feels a very awkward place for them to meet for the first time--it gets even more awkward when her boss is murdered!
One final element of this book and the series as a whole that I really enjoy is the humor, particularly in Dan's descriptions and observations about some of the other characters. Dan's main antagonist in this book is Adolfo Vinci, the police detective in charge of solving the case. Vinci is a buffoon- combination of Dirty Harry swagger and utter incompetence. I literally laughed out loud when he finally gets his comeuppance in the most comical and absurdly fitting way possible.
This was a quick, fun read. I have a few other, more serious books that I'm currently reading, but the moment I saw this brand-new T.A.Williams' title show up on Hoopla, I gladly put everything else aside to spend a few charming hours with Oscar and Armstrong in Tuscany.mystery Annie3,886 71

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder at the Leaning Tower is the sixth Armstrong and Oscar cozy destination mystery by T.A. Williams. Released 6th Feb 2024 by Boldwood books, it's 234 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.

This is a beautifully descriptive and well written destination mystery set in Tuscany. Expat former policeman Dan Armstrong and his trusty canine sidekick Oscar are assisting with security at a stately home in a picture perfect setting near Pisa (what could possibly go wrong?). He's soon drawn into investigating a murder and at definite loggerheads with the local police who are determined to be obstructive and unhelpful.

The plotting is solid and the dialogue and characterizations are three dimensional and believable. The mystery, denouement, and resolution are self contained in this volume, so it works well enough as a standalone, but the writing is so well planned and executed, that it would make an excellent long weekend binge or buddy read. It would also fit really well in a longer term project for a mystery book club "destination mystery" type project. The overall quality of the entire series remains entertaining and engaging throughout.

It's not derivative at all, but it reminded me in a lot of good ways of Leon's exceptional Brunetti books as well as Walker's lovely Bruno, chief of police books. Fans of those authors will find a lot to enjoy here.

Four and a half stars. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.netgalley1 Sara645 11

Originally reviewed for Chick Lit Central (www.chicklitcentral.com)

I think I may have said that the last book I’d read in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries series was the best one in the bunch, but I have to take that back. So far, Murder at the Leaning Tower is the best addition to date!

It felt the writing style and the way that the suspects are rounded up, one by one, was more precise and melded well with the events that had taken place at Villa Gregory. Plus, I think the added stakes of having Dan’s girlfriend’s daughter as a possible suspect really added a touch more severity and seriousness to the experience. As with the other books in this series, there is a long list of suspects, and Dan goes through each and every one in order to categorize them in terms of how guilty they might be, and this also helps the reader to put it in order, too. I never truly know who the culprit is until the very end, which is truly exciting!

The synopsis mentions Inspector Adolfo Vinci, and can I just say how he’s got to be on some “meanest character ever created” list? Whenever he shared a scene with Dan, my feathers would ruffle. I understand that every good story deserves a good antagonist, but Vinci goes above and beyond. He consistently points fingers at possible suspects who are obviously not, which puts a wrench into potentially finding who the murderer really is. It added a nice level of disruption and chaos.

I d how there was more focus placed on the relationship Dan has with his girlfriend, as well as the lack of relationship he has with her daughter. It was nice to see more interpersonal relationships at play, particularly when Dan has to find a way to try to get her to trust him, despite her initial feelings towards him. And as always, Oscar the dog is a crowd favorite. I literally dreamt of a black Lab the other night–that’s how much Oscar has been infiltrating my thoughts. Dan and Oscar are the most unique crime-fighting team, no matter where they end up or who they are defending, and this go around, it really felt the stakes were so much higher for everyone involved on the outskirts of Pisa. It was a definite five-star experience for me! Alison3,345 129

Three and a half stars.

Former Metropolitan Police DCI Dan Armstrong moved to Italy after his wife left him and he retired. Now he lives just outside Florence and has carved out a niche for himself as a private detective, alongside his Labrador Oscar.

Dan is approached in a very cloak-and-dagger way by a young man, his boss is hosting a meeting with some very influential and wealthy people at a villa outside Pisa and they want Dan to provide security - of the not-being-bugged kind rather than the black suit and sunglasses variety. Anyway, after assuring himself that there is nothing shady going on, Dan agrees, only to discover that his girlfriend Anna's grown-up daughter Virginia will also be at the meeting, as assistant to one of the guests. Virginia has already said she doesn't want to meet Dan when she visits Anna so this could be very awkward!

When Virginia's handsy boss is found on the first morning, murdered in his bed by one of the antique daggers that are on display in the villa there is no shortage of suspects, almost all the other guests seemed shocked and or horrified when they saw him arrive. The local police detective thinks he's a New York homicide detective and s to throw his weight around first arresting one person then another for no very good reason, but when he arrests Virginia Dan knows he has to find the real killer.

In one of the other books I thought everything got way too complicated, there appeared to be multiple murderers in a tit-for-tat series of murders. This time things are much more straightforward, and I am pleased that the motive wasn't handed to Dan by his friend in the Met Police.

Overall, you know where you are with these books. Cosy retired copper and his trusty dog solve mysteries against the backdrop of the gorgeous Italian countryside, with copious luscious descriptions of delicious-sounding food.

Also available on Kindle Unlimited.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.2024-read addiction arc ...more Linda3,203 33


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