"Wagner skillfully inserts nuggets of local culture without slowing down the narrative pace, and perhaps even more importantly, he gets Italy right. He understands the nuances of Italian manners and mentality as well as the glorious national preoccupation with food."--Publishers Weekly

The most famous cathedral façade in Italy is found in Umbria--a structure of gothic spires, arches, statues, and mosaics. But as translator Rick Montoya discovers, this jewel of Umbria has a dark side

When Rick Montoya traveled to his mother's Italy from his father's Santa Fe, New Mexico, to work as a freelance translator using his dual heritage, he didn't expect to be helping the Italian police. His maternal uncle, a high-level commissioner in Rome, however, sees no reason not to use the resources at hand.

The trouble begins when Rick is asked by his uncle to go to Orvieto to talk some sense into his cousin Fabrizio, whose fling with an older married woman is embarrassing the family. Rick agrees to give it a try.

Less than a day after arrival, his language skills draw him into the brutal murder of an American visitor. The murdered woman had studied art in Italy decades earlier--why has she returned now? And when a second murder occurs in a public park--narrowly missing Rick himself--he can't help but wonder if his family has anything to do with the case.

In this addition to David P. Wagner's mystery books, a dark past casts its shadow over the picturesque city of Umbria. Is it possible to right the wrongs of the past and remain unscathed?

Other books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mysteries:

Cold Tuscan Stone

Death in the Dolomites

Murder Most Unfortunate

Return to Umbria

A Funeral in Mantova