Murder on the Vine

Summary

On a late October Sunday morning in Gravigna, Tuscany, Maresciallo Perillo is having breakfast with former NYPD homicide detective Nico Doyle when he is called back to the station in Greve. Hotel Bella Vista’s young manager, Laura Benati, is worried. Her eighty-year-old bartender, Cesare Costanzi, has been missing for three days.

The next morning, Jimmy, co-owner of Gravigna’s local café, runs out of gas on his way back from Florence. When Nico meets him to help, Nico’s dog, OneWag, reacts to the smell coming from Jimmy’s trunk. Inside Nico finds a body wrapped in plastic: Cesare Costanzi, stabbed several times in the chest.

It is unclear why anyone would want Cesare dead, but that doesn’t stop the Gravigna grapevine from spreading rumors at lightning speed. With numerous suspects on his list, Perillo has no other choice but to turn to Nico once again for help with the investigation.