A Quiet Death in Italy by Tom Benjamin - Book Tour
A Quiet
Death In Italy
Bologna: city of secrets, suspicion . . . and
murder
A dark and atmospheric crime thriller set in
the beautiful Italian city of Bologna, perfect for fans of Donna Leon, Michael
Dibdin and Philip Gwynne Jones.
When the body of a radical protestor is found
floating in one of Bologna's underground canals, it seems that most of the city
is ready to blame the usual suspects: the police.
But when private investigator Daniel
Leicester, son-in-law to a former chief of police, receives a call from the
dead man's lover, he follows a trail that begins in the 1970s and leads all the
way to the rotten heart of the present-day political establishment.
Beneath the beauty of the city, Bologna has a
dark underside, and English detective Daniel must unravel a web of secrets,
deceit and corruption - before he is caught in it himself.
Tom Benjamin's gripping debut transports you
to the ancient and mysterious Italian city less travelled: Bologna.
Purchase Links
Author Q&A
1. If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would it be?
Don’t think you know
it all and can go your own way. Be prepared to learn from others, take courses,
read books about writing, meet and speak with other writers. And don’t give up…
submitting. I never gave up writing, but was all too easily knocked back by
rejection and would prefer turning to an entirely new novel than continuing to
persevere with the one I had just completed.
2. What book do you feel is under-appreciated? How about
overrated?
Not sure about
under-appreciated, because I think good books will always be appreciated by
discerning readers, but certainly there are writers/ books of the past that may
be over-looked today – Angela Carter (Nights at the Circus), Russell Hoban
(Riddley Walker), Margaret Attwood’s Cat’s Eyes, Joseph Heller’s Good As Gold –
I don’t think I would ever judge another writer’s work as ‘over-rated’ simply
because it obviously meant a lot not only to them, but the readers that ‘rated’
them, so who am I to judge?
3. Favorite childhood memory involving books?
My mother reading to
me.
4. What fantastical fictional world would you want to live
in (if any) given the chance?
Iain M Bank’s ‘The
Culture’. Sounds like fun.
5. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
Yes. From the age of
15 the notion popped into my head, and never left.
6. What’s one movie you like recommending to others?
Il Divo, by Paolo Sorrentino
7. If you could own any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I could never replace
my Chartreux cat and co-writer, Louis-Ferdinand
8. Have you ever met anyone famous?
Yes, but I am very
discreet.
9.
What is the first book that made you cry?I can’t remember the
first, but One Day did the trick, as did A Very Human Heart.
10.
How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?Six months
continuous work, a year at a civilised pace.
11. If you were the last person on Earth, what
would you do?Write about it. I
think a writer always feels compelled to share, even if they know, rationally, there
is no one else to share it with.
12. If you could live in any time period, what
would it be and why?I have had the
privilege to live in the past – I can remember before the internet, or ‘BI’.
Life was slower then, and I recall needing to research something about the
Vietnam War for a short story I was writing and having to travel to another
city to visit a library and find information I could access in a second now,
from the comfort of my sofa. And waiting three hours at London’s Victoria
Station one New Years Eve for a pal to arrive off a boat train from France that
had been delayed by storms and of course, without phones or pagers, we had no
way of communicating – or my knowing if he would ever even arrive – so, without
any other option, I simply waited. Eventually, he made it and it turned out to
be one of my most memorable New Years, and not only for that. But it’s worth
reflecting that, ‘BI’, life had not changed much in a century. The world of our
grandparents was within touching-distance. Now it seems immeasurably remote. I
feel grateful to have experienced that time, but grateful to live in this.
Author Bio
–
Tom Benjamin started off as a reporter before
moving to the press office at Scotland Yard and running drugs awareness
campaign FRANK. He moved to Bologna where his work as doorman at a homeless
canteen inspired him to create English detective Daniel Leicester in a series
that serves up equal helpings of the local cuisine and ubiquitous graffiti; the
city’s splendour, decay, and danger.
Social
Media Links –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tombenjaminsays
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tombenjaminsays/
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