Known as bel paese or beautiful country, the history, culture and ambiance of Italy make it an inspiring setting for many writers. These novels are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle
When two sisters are forced to make impossible decisions while living under the brutal Nazi occupation of Italy, their actions set off a chain of events that ultimately impact a murder investigation sixty years later.
The Body in the Piazza by Katherine Hall Page
While celebrating their anniversary in Italy, an amateur sleuth and her husband find murder on the itinerary when a new acquaintance is killed in Rome.
Pilgrims: A Wobegon Romance by Garrison Keillor
A woman sees a chance to rekindle romance with her husband when she plans a trip to Rome with a group of neighbors on a mission to honor one of Lake Wobegon’s World War II heroes.
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
At the request of his wife, an Italian police commissioner looks into the death of a deaf, mentally disabled man who worked at their dry-cleaners and uncovers a mystery when he discovers the man left no official records.
Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander
Entreated for help by a childhood nemesis who has been wrongly accused of murder, Lady Emily launches an investigation in Venice that takes her from elegant palazzos to slums, libraries and bordellos before she links the crime to a centuries-old puzzle.
The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice
A young woman begins a journey to reunite her family by travelling to the isle of Capri where her mother settled after fleeing family expectations and abandoning her two daughters a decade ago.
When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale
A nine-year-old boy watches protectively over his mother and little sister when they flee their estranged father and leave their life in England to seek refuge in Rome.
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips
Learning that a rival professor may refute her research about the role of 17th-century Venetian courtesan Alessandra Rossetti, a Ph.D. candidate agrees to chaperone a troubled teen in order to gain passage to the professor’s presentation in Venice.
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
After sixty years of living in upstate New York, a man and his wife of forty years prepare for a trip to Italy to visit a childhood friend who fled his hometown many years earlier.
The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
While researching the famous 16th-century garden of Villa Docci, a Cambridge scholar discovers that Signor Docci’s wife may have been murdered, a finding that points to a more recent killing.
Waking Raphael by Leslie Forbes
Leading a restoration project on a Raphael painting near the Italian town of Urbino, an Englishwoman discovers unexplained disappearances and a cover-up with roots to atrocities that occurred during World War II.
Lucrezia Borgia and the Mother of Poisons by Roberta Gellis
Fleeing false accusations in Rome, Lucrezia Borgia begins a new life in Ferrara but her peace is disrupted when she is accused of poisoning her husband’s mistress.
Ciao Bella by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk
After Italy allies itself with Nazi Germany in 1940, a woman’s husband joins the resistance leaving her alone on their remote farm until she meets an American soldier stranded in the mountains.
Originally published on September 13, 2013 in the Lititz Record Express.