Thursday, August 27, 2009

Back from Italy

Just got back from our holiday in Italy - a week in Umbria followed by three days in Rome.

While we were in Umbria, we met up with Mike Jacob and Daniela de Gregorio, the husband and wife team who together write as Michael Gregorio. I'm now reading their latest release, A VISIBLE DARKNESS, a copy of which they very kindly gave to me. It's the third outing for their Prussian detective of the Napoleonic era, Hanno Stiffeniis. So far, it's a brilliant read. The authority with which they summon up the period is breathtaking (especially the descriptions of the excrement-flooded streets), added to which it's a riveting murder story with some gloriously gruesome details. Mike and Daniela put the finishing touches to the fourth book in the series while we were out there. I had the privilege of seeing, and touching, the raw manuscript on their desk.

We got to know Mike and Daniela last year when they invited me to the Trevi Noir Festival which they organised. They are lovely, warm people - with incredibly dark and twisted imaginations.

Mike and Daniela very kindly organised an event for me in Perugia. Amazingly a fair few people turned up! Given the heat, this really was a miracle.

My daughter Claire took the pictures:


The poster advertising the event.



Mike Jacob, RNM and Daniela de Gregorio.




We're joined at the table by the Perugian bookseller Alberto Mori, who sponsored the event.

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