Etta and Dora, both newly retired teachers, travel from their home in Southern Italy to a fairy-tale German town for their first home swap holiday, delighted by their neighbours’ warm welcome. But the welcome turns sour when the Night Watchman of Rothenburg is brutally murdered while his tour group takes photographs nearby, a halberd buried in his chest and a peculiar iron mask by his side.
When the murderer claims a second victim and the son of their hospitable neighbours becomes the number-one suspect, Etta’s analytical mind goes to work. Why was a shame mask left at the scene of each murder? Is there a clandestine trade going on behind the scenes of apparently upstanding local businesses? And why does every lead take her back to the sinister Devil’s Ale pub and the terrifying gang who lurk within?
Meanwhile, Dora has a puzzle of her own – how can she persuade Etta that a loveably disobedient Basset Hound called Napoleon is now a permanent part of their lives?
Once the Watchman dies this turns into a regular page turner, make sure you have nothing planned as you will want to finish it!
At first I wasn't sure about this book, but as I started reading and got past the grumpiness at the beginning then the book flowed and flowed and I wanted to find out what happens next! We start with two disparate friends trying to find the house they are supposed to be staying at in Rothenburg, when they do they then can't find the key to get in! By this time Etta is really wishing she hadn't been chivvied into trying out houseswapping, luckily (for Etta's sanity and possibly Dora's life expectancy) the neighbour has arrived home and sees their trouble and helps out (oh also extends an invitation to dinner which is much appreciated!). Although the two ladies would just like to relax for the evening Etta's daughter had booked them into a walking tour that evening, run by "The Night Watchman", the tour starts wonderfully (although Dora to Etta's displeasure ends up walking the Watchman's dog Napoleon aka Leon - Etta is NOT a great animal lover), but near the end Leon suddenly tugs Dora frantically and she and Etta discover the dead body of the Watchman!
Now with the son of their helpful, temporary, neighbours in the frame for murder Etta and Dora need to find out who killed the Watchman and why (and Etta also wants to find a home for Leon as Dora brought him back with them to the houseswap!)
An Interview With A Character
What is your full name?
Concetta Natale Passolina, but I’m simply Etta to family and friends.
What is your Profession?
I’m a newly retired teacher. [It shows in her voice that Etta doesn’t much like the word ‘retired’. When your curious blogger asks why, she explains that in Italy, retirement tends to mean you’re well over sixty, and as she says, she’s “against aging”. Whatever that means!]
What is your current favourite movie?
Bread and Tulips. I’m sorry, I’m naming an Italian movie that most readers in the English-speaking world won’t be familiar with. It’s a wonderful romantic comedy featuring a typical Southern Italian housewife, with a selfish husband and careless children, who’s left behind at a petrol station during a coach trip. Instead of taking a train back home, she hitchhikes her way to Venice and finds a job – in a quaint flower shop, at that. She ends up loving her new life as she realises who she really is.
As a divorced woman who had to bring up my only daughter alone, I find the movie empowering and inspiring, and I love Venice so much. I hope Dora, my friend and sidekick in The Homeswappers Mysteries series, and I find a homeswap there soon.
What is your go to comfort book or movie?
Etta: “You promise you won’t tell anyone?”
Blogger (solemnly), “I promise.” [Then she adds in a whisper, “They might read what you say, but I won’t tell anyone”.]
Etta: “My guilty pleasure is Anne of Green Gables. It sets me at peace with the whole world, and we red-haired women rock! As for my comfort movie, I’m still waiting for Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy Mystery series to be adapted for the screen. Again, it features a red-haired woman. And a red-haired sleuth at that.
If someone was to play you in a movie, who would it be?
I wanted to say Nicole Kidman because she has the same red hair as me, though I’m not quite as thin… But my friend Dorotea Rosa Pepe (you can call her Dora) told me it’s a fun question, so she gave it some thought and said, “Jack Nicholson in As Good as it Gets.” She’s not usually the sarcastic type, so I was shocked by her answer. I can’t really see what we have in common – he’s such an unbearable guy, saying all sorts of nasty things, no matter whom he’s speaking to. I’m not like that. At all. GRUMPH!
What is your ideal evening?
I confess, my best time of day is the morning. Evenings are mostly for curling up on my armchair, reading a book, Leon, our Basset Hound, snoring nearby, Dora baking some biscuits. And preferably, no one in the vicinity being murdered!
Please leave a message in the comments and we will pick a winner for an eBook of The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies.
All my links:
Free eBook: https://adrianalicio.com/murderclub
Website: https://adrianalicio.com
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrianalicio.mystery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adrianalici
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