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Reviewed by K T Bowes for Readers' Favorite
The main character in The Writer in Tuscany by Richard P. Wenzel is a crime reporter suffering from writer’s block. Erik Swanson has retreated to a vineyard in Tuscany, searching for peace and inspiration to write his crime novel. But within the stunning vistas and tight-knit winery community, he stumbles across a hideous conspiracy. Young men are dying, and no one has connected the tragedies until Erik starts his unofficial investigation. Unfortunately, his interference places a target on his own back. Only now, he has more to lose than when he first arrived.
The Writer in Tuscany by Richard P. Wenzel is a beautifully crafted, action-packed novel set in stunning rural Italy. Descriptions of the landscape are engaging enough to invite the reader into the scenery. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Erik sat at the courtyard table. Butterflies in their joyous errands clung with tremulous flutters to nearby wildflowers.’ The refreshing difference between this amateur sleuth mystery and many others in the genre is the openness of the Italian police to accept Erik’s help with a case they’d missed identifying as a murder. Within this spirit of collaboration, the plot is more agile and progresses with fewer roadblocks. I enjoyed the character dynamics, especially with the way the female members are drawn. There are few feeble women in this novel, most being capable business owners or artists meeting the challenge of operating against the odds in a male-dominated world. The novel is well-written and wholesome, built on a theme where the ordinary citizen has autonomy and the power to change outcomes for a community. Promise is threaded throughout the narrative and, by the end of the novel, Erik has gained almost everything he arrived in Tuscany lacking. An engaging novel.
