{"product_id":"an-enigma-by-the-sea-9781916725195","title":"An Enigma by the Sea","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Doyens of the Italian detective story, Fruttero and Lucentini, offer a perfect blend of the comedy of manners and the macabre; in short, very Mediterranean mysteries.\" \u003cstrong\u003eTim Parks\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eHotel Milano\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eItalian Life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn an exclusive resort on the Tuscan coast, the wealthy elite gather at their luxurious second homes for Christmas. Amid this frosty holiday idyll, a husband and wife vanish from their heavily guarded villa, and the body of Count Delaude, a dubious aristocrat, washes up on the shore, battered to death.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ensemble cast brims with intrigue: The count, a sponger and a sham had arrived under cover of dark with a beautiful young woman scheming to be a top model. Two comedians seclude themselves as they try to overcome a writing block. One depressive, Signor Monforti, a retired academic, tries to woo a beautiful divorcee, while another, a woman this time, prepares to leave her husband. Two elderly spinsters and their Filipina maid are aghast at the awful predictions of their Tarot pack. With the local police floundering, it falls to Monforti to unravel the mystery, triumphing as an amateur detective.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A sophisticated thriller--consistently funny. These are superbly deadpan observers of humanity\u003cem\u003e.\" \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Lover of No Fixed Abode \u003c\/i\u003ein the same series\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewas selected by Tracy Chevalier for the \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWSJ\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e as first among the five best books on Venice: \"...distinctive, eccentric, seductive.\" John Powers on \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNPR'\u003c\/b\u003es Fresh Air\u003c\/i\u003e with Terry Gross - calls \u003ci\u003eLover of No Fixed Abode\u003c\/i\u003e his favorite mystery novel of the year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Carlo Fruttero,Franco Lucentini\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bitter Lemon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.60h x 5.10w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781916725195\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/02\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFruttero, Carlo:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Authors: Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini were a well-known literary duo in Italy for several decades until Lucentini's death in 2002. For about forty years they co-wrote newspaper articles, literary essays, and published six groundbreaking and best-selling mystery novels. Their first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, was made into a film in 1975 starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Louis Trintignant. \u003ci\u003eThe Lover of No Fixed Abode, Runaway Horses\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAn Enigma by the Sea \u003c\/i\u003eare available in English from Bitter Lemon Press.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLucentini, Franco:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Authors: Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini were a well-known literary duo in Italy for several decades until Lucentini's death in 2002. For about forty years they co-wrote newspaper articles, literary essays, and published six groundbreaking and best-selling mystery novels. Their first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, was made into a film in 1975 starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Louis Trintignant. \u003ci\u003eThe Lover of No Fixed Abode, Runaway Horses\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAn Enigma by the Sea \u003c\/i\u003eare available in English from Bitter Lemon Press.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDowling, Gregory:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Gregory Dowling grew up in Bristol and lives in Venice. He read English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. He published four thrillers in the 1980s and 1990s and then devoted himself to academic work and translation. He returned to fiction in 2015, with his novel set in 18th-century Venice, \u003ci\u003eAscension\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Four Horsemen\u003c\/i\u003e, the sequel to \u003ci\u003eAscension\u003c\/i\u003e, came out in 2017.","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Carlo Fruttero \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":47876550721693,"sku":"9781916725195","price":35.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_0c725926-4388-4235-b9d3-c90cfc798906.jpg?v=1777381466","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/an-enigma-by-the-sea-9781916725195","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}