Italian Rules by Tom Benjamin

  

Italian Rules  
By Tom Benjamin

 

SUMMARY:

When Hollywood comes to Bologna, La Dolce Vita turns into sweet murder...

A famous Hollywood director arrives in Bologna to remake a cult film, and the city's renowned cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original... only to discover it has disappeared.

After English detective Daniel Leicester follows the trail of Love on a Razorblade to an apparent murder-suicide, he begins to suspect there may be more at stake than just missing negatives - could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries?

Together with a Hollywood star from the upcoming remake, Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system as a sinister network closes in.

Daniel is about to learn that, for the ultimate 'director's cut', some people are ready to kill.

 

TERRI’S REVIEW:
 

What do you get when Hollywood movie elites are mixed with a mysterious, controversial plane crash? The answer is the nearly dizzyingly paced novel “Italian Rules” by Tom Benjamin. 

 The plot unfolds around a famous Hollywood director’s arrival in Bologna to remake a cult film. The city's renowned cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original. However, the original has disappeared. At first this is merely an embarrassment to the prestigious archival company. Soon, however, it turns into much darker circumstances. 

The English detective Daniel Leicester is employed to follow the trail of the film - Love on a Razorblade - and is led to an apparent murder-suicide. But the incongruous details surrounding it make him suspect there may be more at stake than missing negatives. Could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries - that plane crash? Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system, uncovering a sinister network that closes in and becomes more and more dangerous to anyone associated with the missing film - including Leicester himself. He learns some people are ready to kill for the ultimate director's cut. It’s a unique and intriguing basis for a detective novel. There is even the tease of a romance between the new film’s star and the single detective. 

 Events in the novel unfold with plenty of twists and turns as Leicester works at putting together seemingly disparate puzzle pieces. It’s sometimes difficult to keep up with him. You may need a scorecard to keep track of the myriad characters that come (and sometimes go) in quick succession and, if they survive, return after a bit of a hiatus. 

It also helps to have a bit of knowledge of cinema, past and present. There are frequent references to film titles, actors, and directors. 

 

Tom Benjamin lives in Bologna and certainly knows it well. His detailed descriptions of viccoli, palazzi, neighbourhoods, cafes, stores, and the ambience of different areas of the city create an almost cinematic feel as one moves through unfolding events. 

 

It takes a bit of work to follow the path Benjamin lays out for Detective Leicester to follow as he pursues the mystery of the missing film. Astonishingly, it all comes together in the end, culminating in a satisfying conclusion. 


 

AUTHOR BIO:

Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his career as a reporter in north London before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he developed Britain's first national campaign against alcohol abuse, Know Your Limits, and led the drugs awareness programme FRANK. He went on to work in international aid and public health before moving to Bologna with his Italian wife. Tom's first job in Bologna as a doorman at a homeless canteen exposed him to an Italy less travelled and helped inspire his debut A Quiet Death In Italy.

​His English detective Daniel Leicester walks the shadowy porticoes of ‘the red city’ in a series that evokes the beauty of Bologna but doesn’t spare her blushes. Expect equal servings of the local cuisine and ubiquitous graffiti as Daniel unravels the mystery of modern-day Italy with dogged determination and dry wit.

https://www.tombenjamin.com/

 

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Old Bones in Puglia: ( May 2026)

A Quiet Death in Italy ( May 2020)

The Bologna Vendetta (Nov 2024)

Requiem in La Rossa ( May 2022)

The Hunting Season (Nov 2020) 

Last Testament in Bologna ( May 2024)

 

BOOK BLURB:

Published by Constable ( May 2023)

Genre: Thriller

 

 

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