BOOKS. Vines, Wines and Other Crimes. The Italian Taste for Short Crime Stories

“Life is too short to drink bad wine,” an anonymous oenophile is famously quoted as saying. To that, we'll add that life is also too short to read bad books. In this collection of short stories by 13 Italian authorsyou will find engaging crime dramas wherein the flavor of the wine itself becomes almost palpable.

Each of the stories in Vines, Wines and Other Crimesopens a window into an Italian regional landscape through the thrilling lens of noir. Like the bouquet of flavors that defines a good wine, the bouquet of storiesthat compose this anthology are sometimes complex and mysterious, solid and robust, or light and refreshing. Other times, they have an unexpected finish.
 

A forlorn lover travels to exotic locales, a pastor is punished for his sins, a homeless book dealer is murdered in cold blood, three idiot gangsters bite off more than they can chew, a natural beauty has an unnatural temper, a young entrepreneur is tortured for his ambition, messages between mob families creates an intercontinental bloodbath, a Canadian detective goes undercover to find an arsonist, and a batty woman finds police procedurals a little bit too inspiring.

The result is an anthology full of dramatic turn of events, disastrous toasts, and lethal tastings.

The book was first published in 2008 under the title Delitti di vino. It has been recently translated into English and is available as an e-book on Amazon.

Highlights

Most of the authors in this anthology are experienced writers or well-known journalists, however some have received higher levels of recognition, including: Nicoletta Vallorani, who is published with Mondadori, Salani, Einaudi, and Marcos y Marcos. Her books are also published in France by Gallimard and in the UK by Troubadour Publishing, and Massimo Marcotullio, who writes historical novels published by Piemme that have been translated into Spanish and German.

Praises for Delitti di vino

“A book to read in a sip” - Roma

“Sexy, smooth and irreverent” - La Repubblica on Ugo Mazzotta’s story A Bitter Cup

Where to find Vines, Wines and Other Crimes:

The e-book is available for purchase on Amazon and, upon request, in pdf for reviews.

Todaro Editore was founded in 1996 in Lugano, Switzerland. Since 1999, it has specialized in crime stories with the particular goal of publishing first-time writers.