Hope everyone had a great start to 2019!
I've been working on Sicilian Murder, my murder mystery set in Sicily. I think I've mentioned in prior blogs that I love audio-books. So I just finished listening to Jeffrey Deaver's “THE BURIAL HOUR” which was set in Naples and Milan, Italy. I really like reading about Deaver's character Lincoln Rhyme, a former forensics guy, but now a quadriplegic after having his spinal cord injured on a crime scene. His characters are so smart and yet have a very human side.
Now I'm listening to a true crime book, “THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE”. Generally, I'm not a true crime fan. The real world of solving crime is far slower and tedious than the make-believe world of mystery authors. Our stories are solved faster and with more danger. We ignore some rules of the justice system. The towns where these murder occur have such false high murder rates that no one in real life would live there – I would neither drive through, vacation, or live in Cabot Cove, lol.
These two books are helping set the mood in my imagination for an Italian murder. The layers of law enforcement are so different and confusing in Italy. Sicily is an entire additional complication to the story. It's a beautiful island filled with history and ruins. Sadly, it is also filled with political corruption from organized crime. This has left the island with little industry beyond tourism, high unemployment, and a declining population. In fact one of the cities I explored as a possible murder site was Sambucca di Sicilia. The mayor of this town announced last week that homes were for sale for €1 in his town. Buyers must commit to living there and spending (I think) 15,000 euros in renovations. It's an attempt to do something with abandoned historic buildings and build the town's population.
Other than writing Sicilian Murder, I will begin teaching a publishing class at my local community college at the end of this month. I'm also working on large print editions of all of my books. I've had many requests for books in large font and I'm finally doing something about it!
Cheers and stay warm,
Alec Peche