MURDER IN AN ITALIAN VILLAGE

Murder threatens an Italian innkeeper’s dream.

To the Positanesi, Bria Bartolucci, who grew up in neighboring Ravello, might as well have been from Australia. But when her husband, Carlo, announced he was buying a bed-and-breakfast in the seaside town, Bria was swept up in his enthusiasm for the unexpected but welcome adventure. Now, a year later, Bria’s on the verge of unveiling Bella Bella, although without Carlo, who was killed in a plane crash. Her determination to open despite her loss is a tribute to her love for Carlo and her desire to provide for their 8-year-old son, Marco, in her own right. (Carlo’s immensely rich mother, Imperia, has already set up a trust fund that will secure Marco’s future.) A week before the scheduled opening, Bria is jolted by discovering a stranger stabbed to death in one of Bella Bella’s upstairs bedrooms. In a panic, she calls her friend Rosalie Vivaldi even before calling Rosalie’s brother, Luca, who happens to be Positano’s chief of police. Bria’s closest friends rally to her side, along with her mother, Fifetta D’Abruzzo, and even the chilly Imperia. Bria, afraid that the murder will become one more reason for the larger Positanesi community to reject her, does her best to solve the case on her own. But there are many looming questions. Who is the dead stranger? How did he find his way to Bella Bella? Why was he in possession of a bag filled with counterfeit lire, a currency no longer in use? Even if these may take a village to answer, Bria’s adopted home proves itself up to the challenge.

A promising debut highlights the pleasures of the sunny Amalfi coast.