Death in the Dolomites

July 21, 2014
When Cameron Taylor, an American banker, disappears from Campiglio, a popular Italian ski resort, in Wagner’s serviceable second Rick Montoya mystery (after 2013’s Cold Tuscan Stone), Rick interrupts his vacation to assist Insp. Luca Albani search for him. Rick treats the investigation as a welcome addition to his skiing adventures, but others in Campiglio clearly see him as a threat. Rick is chased down the mountain by a masked man in a snowmobile, and a person who resembles Rick is stabbed outside his hotel. Rick, however, doesn’t let these events hinder his enjoyment of alpine delicacies. The author’s passion for Italian cuisine jumps off the page, though readers hoping for a juicy mystery may be frustrated by the amount of space devoted to detailed descriptions of Rick’s every meal, snack, and degustation. Indeed, the attention reserved for the food brings into sharp focus the comparative lack of attention paid to the actual mystery.

September 15, 2014
Wagner follows up his excellent Cold Tuscan Stone (2013) with another mystery featuring Rick Montoya, an American translator who lives and works in Italy. On a skiing vacation in the Italian Alps, Rick is invited to assist an Italian cop who's investigating the disappearance of an American banker. Rick is supposed to be an interpreter between the cop and his English-speaking interviewees, but when the case turns complicated (this small ski-resort town has more than its fair share of dark secrets), Rick joins in the sleuthing. Like Cold Tuscan Stone, the novel is light on its feet, with a protagonist who will strike readers as a good guy to hang around with.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)