Review - That Little Book Shop in Rome where it's Easy to Murder Someone by Lee Quail

Adrian’s aunt Clarissa died and left him her bookshop in Rome. He isn’t sure why. On arriving, he meets the eccentric group of people who work in the shop and learns that Clarissa was, in fact, murdered because she and the others were on the trail of a ruthless human trafficking network with ties to the Vatican. Adrian can’t help looking into the problem, which puts him in the sights of people who will kill to keep their lucrative operation running. All of them are now in danger, including Marco, the bookshop manager who Adrian feels strongly attracted to. The feeling seems to be mutual, but Marco keeps pushing Adrian away.

The title and description for this book might have you expecting a cosy mystery, but you’d be wrong. This is much more of a high-action thriller with shoot-outs and car chases. There is still some mystery, as well as a bit of romance, but be prepared for a high body count.

Most of the story is related from Adrian’s point of view, with a few passages from Marco. Adrian was a private detective, and before that he was in the military, so it soon becomes clear why Clarissa chose him to take over the bookshop. His attraction to Marco is very much love-at-first sight. It feels like the relationship gets very deep, very fast, which stretches credulity a bit.

We don’t get to know Marco as well as you might like. It’s obvious to us, if not to Adrian, why Marco tries to keep Adrian at arm’s length at first, but even with several flashbacks, we never really get to know why Marco chose the path he did. It feels like there’s still a bit missing.

This is a fast-paced story and while it may not be a cosy mystery, there are still many surprising twists and turns along the way as well as some red herrings as the team close in on the mastermind of the criminal ring while trying to figure out who the traitor in their midst is. Some of the red herrings may be unintentional. There are some inconsistencies in the story. Things like characters being in two places at the same time. There aren’t so many as to ruin the story, but they are confusing.

“That Little Book Shop in Rome where it's Easy to Murder Someone” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sources for your copy.