David Downie's Blog: David D. Downie author's blog
November 9, 2024
Shadows of Rome: A Memoir
SHADOWS OF ROME
A MEMOIR, COMING SOON
WAR ANDLOVE FROM ITALY TO CALIFORNIA
An extravagant neo-baroque artist and outspoken proto-feminist, the mercurial Romana Laura Anzi survived Mussolini and the Nazis, risked her life carrying messages for the Italian Resistance, and wound up marrying a wisecracking bespectacled GI journalist who fought in the Italian Campaign then stayed on in Rome to woo her.
Romana wasthe author’s mother. The GI—Charles E. Downie, Jr.—was his father.
Ranging fromthe Dolomites in World War One to Rome in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s, then to SanFrancisco and Berkeley in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, Shadows of Rometells the bittersweet tale of this unlikely mid-20th-centuryItalian-American couple and their unusual offspring.
With wryhumor and philosophical detachment, in the pages of this moving memoir acclaimedtravel writer and novelist David Downie relives his own roller-coaster youth inCalifornia and Italy, evoking among the memoir’s many quirky characters hishigh-color Italian uncles and larger-than-life grandfather, an antifascistlawyer and freemason tortured and ruined by Mussolini’s Fascist Black Shirts.
October 1, 2022
November (and December) Book Tour for Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs, A Daria Vinci Investigation
I’m looking forward to seeing you at one of our No Cal or So Cal book events in November, our virtual event on Nov. 1 hosted by Politics & Prose, and my big Paris event on Dec 13, for the second Daria Vinci Investigation. Please check with individual venues to confirm the time, date and address of the event. Can’t wait!
1 NOV, Tues
Virtual Event
Tues, November 1
Politics & Prose
With author Ed Aymar
3pm PDT/6pm to 7pm EDT
Click to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pp-live-david-downie-roman-roulette-with-ea-aymar-tickets-418245412287
About this eventIn Roman Roulette, the second Daria Vinci investigation, the glamorous and high-principled police commissioner of DIGOS, Italy’s FBI, must investigate what at first seems a simple case of suicide. In doing so, she attracts the attention of her boss, the Questor of the Province of Rome, who has his own reasons for wanting her off the case. Now, Daria Vinci must solve the murder in 36 hours, while risking her career and, possibly, her life.
I will be in conversation with E.A. Aymar. Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar’s most recent thriller, They’re Gone, was published to rave reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus (starred), and was named one of the best books of the year by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His next novel, No Home for Killers, is coming out in 2023 from Thomas and Mercer. He is a former member of the national board of the International Thriller Writers and an active member of Crime Writers of Color, the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. He also runs the Noir at the Bar series for Washington, DC, and has hosted and spoken at a variety of crime fiction, writing, and publishing events nationwide.
2 NOV, Weds
In-person Event:
Weds – November 2
7-8pm
In conversation with author Joanna Biggar
Oakland/Montclair
6120 La SalleAvenue
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 339-8210
https://www.ggpbooks.com/Author Joanna Biggar has traveled solo in the most remote areas of China, chaired a school board in Ghana, worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and taught school kids in Oakland, California. She is a member of the Society of Woman Geographers, mother of five, grandmother of eight, all of whom love books! Joanna’s first novel, That Paris Year, is written in English but captures that French novel feel in a truly classic style. If you’ve been to Paris, she will welcome you back, if you haven’t, you may just want to pack your bags! That Paris Year is a truly splendid read! Joanna’s long-awaited sequel, Melanie’s Song, came out in 2019.
3 NOV, THURS
In-person Event:
Thursday– November 3, 2022
5:30pm– 6:45pm Book talk and signing, WINE by Kathy Baker of Rombi Winery
Olivia and Daisy A Book Boutique
13766Center St
CarmelValley, CA 93924
9 NOV, WEDS
IN- PERSON EVENT
Wednesday – November 9, 2022
6:30pm book talk and signing
Brentwood ~ brentwood@dieselbookstore.com
Mary Pluto at events@dieselbookstore.com
BrentwoodCountry Mart
22526th Street, Suite #33
SantaMonica CA 90402
By phone: (310) 576-9960
13 NOV, Sunday
IN-PERSON EVENT
Sunday – November 13, 2022
4pm – 5pm
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
In conversation with author Matthew Felix
Matthew Félix is an author, podcaster, and speaker. On his Matthew Félix on Air and as Program Director and Host of the San Francisco Writers Conference podcast, he has interviewed NY Times bestselling authors, leaders of organizations such as LitQuake, the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and experts on topics ranging from cable cars to cannabis, refugees to honey bees, and acupuncture to astrotourism. Matthew also speaks regularly about creativity, podcasting, marketing for authors, and more. Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize called his debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, “(a) highly crafted gem;” his travel collection, With Open Arms, won numerous Solas Awards and has topped Amazon’s Morocco category four times; and his latest book, Porcelain Travels, won Gold for Humor in the Readers’ Favorite Awards, received two Soul-Making Keats Literary Awards, and was a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award finalist.
15 NOV, TUES
IN-PERSON EVENT
Museo Italo-Americano
Museo Italo Americano
Fort Mason Center
2 Marina Blvd. Building C
San Francisco, CA 94123
I’ll be in conversation with a leading light of the Italian-American community of San Francisco at the first and biggest and most ambitious museum and cultural institution dedicated to Italian and Italian-American topics–art and architecture, history, food, language and more.
Tel: 415 673-2200
16 NOV, Weds
IN-PERSON EVENT
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
6pm – 7pm
130 E Napa St
Sonoma, CA 95476
https://www.readersbooks.com/event/da...17 NOV, Thurs
IN-PERSON EVENT
Thursday, November 17, 2022
6pm – 7pm
57 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
The Mediterranean: Murder, Mayhem, & Mysticism. In conversation with Matthew Felix about the Mediterranean Sea and the effect the Mediterrean world has had on our work as authors.
Authors David Downie and Matthew Félix share a rich personal past in the Mediterranean and a deep love of this ancient region, which permeates their writing and their beings. Following on his renowned books on France and Italy, Downie’s forthcoming mystery, Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs (Alan Squire Publishing), takes place in Rome. It’s the second in the Daria Vinci Investigations series. The first, Red Riviera, also starring the intrepid female sleuth, is set in Genoa.
Matthew’s four books, including his forthcoming memoir, Have Fun Falling, take place predominantly in Spain and France, as well other Mediterranean locales such as Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt.
In this special event—their fourth joint appearance, but the first in which David turns the tables and interviews Matthew—Downie and Félix will be in conversation about their shared passion for the Mediterranean, its history and culture, and the many ways in which it has played a role in their lives and work.
https://www.milibrary.org/events
Tues, December 13 in Paris with Adrian Leeds
This is my one Paris event in 2022… don’t miss it… we’ll have a great time, as we always do, at the Cafe de la Mairie in the 3rd arrondissement… this is LIVE and lively! https://adrianleeds.com/event/david-downie-author-tour-guide/
November Book Tour for Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs, A Daria Vinci Investigation
I’m looking forward to seeing you at one of our No Cal or So Cal book events in November for the second Daria Vinci Investigation. Please check with individual venues to confirm the time, date and address of the event. Can’t wait!
1 NOV, Tues
Virtual Event
Tues, November 1
Politics & Prose
With author Ed Aymar
3pm PDT/6pm to 7pm EDT
Click to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pp-live-david-downie-roman-roulette-with-ea-aymar-tickets-418245412287
About this eventIn Roman Roulette, the second Daria Vinci investigation, the glamorous and high-principled police commissioner of DIGOS, Italy’s FBI, must investigate what at first seems a simple case of suicide. In doing so, she attracts the attention of her boss, the Questor of the Province of Rome, who has his own reasons for wanting her off the case. Now, Daria Vinci must solve the murder in 36 hours, while risking her career and, possibly, her life.
I will be in conversation with E.A. Aymar. Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar’s most recent thriller, They’re Gone, was published to rave reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus (starred), and was named one of the best books of the year by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His next novel, No Home for Killers, is coming out in 2023 from Thomas and Mercer. He is a former member of the national board of the International Thriller Writers and an active member of Crime Writers of Color, the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. He also runs the Noir at the Bar series for Washington, DC, and has hosted and spoken at a variety of crime fiction, writing, and publishing events nationwide.
2 NOV, Weds
In-person Event:
Weds – November 2
7-8pm
In conversation with author Joanna Biggar
Oakland/Montclair
6120 La SalleAvenue
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 339-8210
https://www.ggpbooks.com/Author Joanna Biggar has traveled solo in the most remote areas of China, chaired a school board in Ghana, worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and taught school kids in Oakland, California. She is a member of the Society of Woman Geographers, mother of five, grandmother of eight, all of whom love books! Joanna’s first novel, That Paris Year, is written in English but captures that French novel feel in a truly classic style. If you’ve been to Paris, she will welcome you back, if you haven’t, you may just want to pack your bags! That Paris Year is a truly splendid read! Joanna’s long-awaited sequel, Melanie’s Song, came out in 2019.
3 NOV, THURS
In-person Event:
Thursday– November 3, 2022
5:30pm– 6:45pm Book talk and signing, WINE by Kathy Baker of Rombi Winery
Olivia and Daisy A Book Boutique
13766Center St
CarmelValley, CA 93924
TELEPHONE 831-620-9290
8 NOV, TUES
IN-PERSON EVENT
Tuesday– November 8, 2022
6:30pmbook talk and signing
Diesel Bookstore Del Mar/San Diego
Byphone: (858) 925-7078
DelMar Highlands Town Center
12843El Camino Real, Suite 104
SanDiego, CA 92130
9 NOV, WEDS
IN- PERSON EVENT
Wednesday – November 9, 2022
6:30pm book talk and signing
Brentwood ~ brentwood@dieselbookstore.com
Mary Pluto at events@dieselbookstore.com
BrentwoodCountry Mart
22526th Street, Suite #33
SantaMonica CA 90402
By phone: (310) 576-9960
13 NOV, Sunday
IN-PERSON EVENT
Sunday – November 13, 2022
4pm – 5pm
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
In conversation with author Matthew Felix
Matthew Félix is an author, podcaster, and speaker. On his Matthew Félix on Air and as Program Director and Host of the San Francisco Writers Conference podcast, he has interviewed NY Times bestselling authors, leaders of organizations such as LitQuake, the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and experts on topics ranging from cable cars to cannabis, refugees to honey bees, and acupuncture to astrotourism. Matthew also speaks regularly about creativity, podcasting, marketing for authors, and more. Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize called his debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, “(a) highly crafted gem;” his travel collection, With Open Arms, won numerous Solas Awards and has topped Amazon’s Morocco category four times; and his latest book, Porcelain Travels, won Gold for Humor in the Readers’ Favorite Awards, received two Soul-Making Keats Literary Awards, and was a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award finalist.
16 NOV, Weds
IN-PERSON EVENT
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
6pm – 7pm
130 E Napa St
Sonoma, CA 95476
https://www.readersbooks.com/event/da...17 NOV, Thurs
IN-PERSON EVENT
Thursday, November 17, 2022
6pm – 7pm
57 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
The Mediterranean: Murder, Mayhem, & Mysticism. In conversation with Matthew Felix about the Mediterranean Sea and the effect the Mediterrean world has had on our work as authors.
Authors David Downie and Matthew Félix share a rich personal past in the Mediterranean and a deep love of this ancient region, which permeates their writing and their beings. Following on his renowned books on France and Italy, Downie’s forthcoming mystery, Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs (Alan Squire Publishing), takes place in Rome. It’s the second in the Daria Vinci Investigations series. The first, Red Riviera, also starring the intrepid female sleuth, is set in Genoa.
Matthew’s four books, including his forthcoming memoir, Have Fun Falling, take place predominantly in Spain and France, as well other Mediterranean locales such as Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt.
In this special event—their fourth joint appearance, but the first in which David turns the tables and interviews Matthew—Downie and Félix will be in conversation about their shared passion for the Mediterranean, its history and culture, and the many ways in which it has played a role in their lives and work.
https://www.milibrary.org/events
September 14, 2022
ROMAN ROULETTE: MURDER IN THE CATACOMBS
COMING on November 1, 2022
In Commissioner Daria Vinci’s second investigation, the intrepid, beautiful Italian police commissioner finds herself in the dark, dank entrails of the Eternal City, the Mother of All Bureaucracy and Intrigue… She has 36 hours to solve the riddle of a death in the catacombs: accident, ritual suicide or… murder? If she fails, the case will be sandbagged and archived and the culprit(s) will go unpunished…
September 8, 2022
Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs, coming on November 1, 2022
Exciting news! Commissioner Daria Vinci’s Second Investigation (after Red Riviera: Murder on the Italian Riviera) is coming out on November 1, 2022. Published by Alan Squire Publishing (ASP), Roman Roulette is already garnering praise from leading writers and critics including Patricia Bracewell and A. E. Aymar. See their endorsements below. Kirkus Reviews says Roman Roulette “abounds with quirky, memorable characters” and is “a treat for those who would love a Roman holiday.”
Here’s the deal: this time Daria Vinci is in deep with the Mother of All Bureaucracy and Intrigue, i.e. Rome.
The intrepid Commissioner was supposed to be enjoying a night off at a benefit concert for the Institute of America in Rome. Little did the wealthy, distinguished guests know that beneath their feet, in the ancient catacombs, a very different kind of gathering was being held. One that would end in death….
In Roman Roulette, Daria’s second investigation, the glamorous and high-principled police commissioner of DIGOS, Italy’ s FBI, must investigate what at first seems a simple case of suicide. In doing so, she attracts the attention of her boss, the Questor of the Province of Rome, who has his own reasons for wanting her off the case. Now, Daria Vinci must solve the murder in 36 hours, while risking her career and, possibly, her life.
“In his latest mystery, Roman Roulette, David Downie takes readers into the sumptuous and sordid culture of modern day Rome. Evoking echoes of Italy’s Cold War past, Downie spins a tale as dark and twisting as the catacombs that snake beneath the Eternal City.” — Patricia Bracewell, author of the Emma of Normandy Trilogy
“David Downies’ Roman Roulette is more than an intriguing mystery — it’s a commentary on the differences and parallels between American and Italian politics and culture, all while providing a lush view of Roman life. Fans of crime fiction informed by recent events, but written with a passionate knowledge of societies and the complexities of shared history, will find much to savor in these pages.” — E. A. Aymar, author of The Unrepentant and No Home for Killers
May 13, 2022
Four of Clubs: Murder Among Friends, book review by John Pearce
The first review of Four of Clubs: Murder in the High Sierra is up! You can read the whole review by fellow novelist John Pearce at this address.
Pearce is a perceptive reviewer: he picks up on the complexity and ambiguity of Four of Clubs and manages to give readers a good sense of what the novel is about without spoilers.
Here’s an example. Pearce writes: “Three adolescent boys, childhood friends, meet a beguiling half-Persian girl, fourteen years old but fully adult in matters of sex. Over forty years the inevitable tensions boil over. The result: murder. More than one…. The girl is Serena Swallow, exiled to California for an abortion, which will not be her last. There are hints of abuse and scars of past trauma.”
Pearce goes on to note that “Four of Clubs is a subtle novel, written by an author deeply familiar with the area. His previous California novel, The Gardener of Eden, was also a story of depth. Both benefit from being read twice: Once for the pure pleasure of the story, again for the deeper story and relationships.”
To learn more about John Pearce’s highly successful and highly recommended Eddie Grant Paris thrillers series, visit Pearce’s website or Amazon.com’s John Pearce author’s page.
June 16, 2021
Pesto, the Mafia, and Wolves Guarding Sheep: the first Red Riviera blog post by Commissioner Daria Vinci, guest blogger
Red Riviera: A Daria Vinci Investigation, pub date: June 25, 2021,
Alan Squire Publishing, ASP
Introducing Commissioner Daria Vinci, a plainclothes specialagent of the elite investigative unit of Italy’s DIGOS—the Italian FBI.
Daria’s base is Genoa, Italy’s busiest Mediterranean port. Thebirthplace of Christopher Columbus, Genoa is an ancient place crammed into thenorthernmost tip of the Mediterranean on a jagged coastline that backs upagainst the Apennines.
Why Genoa? For one thing, it has one of the biggest, busiestcontainer-port facilities in Europe—and plenty of wharf rats and other vermin,animal, human, real and metaphorical. This is an ancient walled city founded inpre-Roman times. Its roistering narrow alleyways and roughshod alure contrastwith the glitzy wealth and breathtaking beauty of the Italian Riviera, the coastlineon both sides of it. The official name of the region is Liguria. Genoa is the capital.
Red Riviera is the first Daria Vinci Investigation. Thisfast-paced crime novel takes place in Genoa and on the Riviera—in world-famousseaside resorts such as Portofino, Rapallo and the Cinque Terre. Sequels to thenovel are set elsewhere in Italy and beyond. They will include Roman Roulette,Venetian Vendetta, Florentine Fiasco….
Click to watch the first Red Riviera teaser video
For this first post as a guest blogger, I’ve invited Dariato talk about organized crime on the Riviera, partly because in Red Rivierathe crime at the heart of the story—or the series of crimes—looks like a Mafiaoperation.
Why is this a Red Riviera? Easy: because ofthe color of the red bougainvillea or morning glory vines knotted aroundeverything, everywhere. And the spectacular sunsets. And the red chemicalfire-retardant dropped from the air on the wildfires that burn the dry outbackfor about half of each calendar year.
Most of all, it’s red for the color of blood—inthis case, blood spilling from the butchered bodies Daria Vinci and hercolleagues at DIGOS discover one fine spring morning as they investigate whatlooks like a serial murder. Somehow, the butchery is tangled up with thekidnapping or accidental death or murder of a superrich American former spywith Mafia connections… I’ll say no more.
As novelist and travel writer Matthew Félix said about thenovel, “Red Riviera had me in its clutches from the start—and refused tolet go. I gasped. I laughed out loud. And that was just the first chapter! Ashocking premise, a stunning locale, and a complex web of history, politics andcrime that somehow made perfect sense in the end. The pacing is flawless, theengaging characters leave you curious for more. Another, please!”
Sure thing, Matthew! Coming right up! Roman Roulettewill be published in summer, 2022.
In the meantime, happy travels and even happier reading withDaria on Red Riviera! –David Downie
Daria Vinci’s first post as guest bloggerHi! Buongiorno!!
Please call me Daria. My father was Italian, and I’m anItalian police officer, a captain. But my mother—she’s still alive and snappingat nearly 90 and she’s totally American. I’m used to American informality and tobe honest I prefer it.
The other day when David and I met for a walk and a cup of caffèamericano (and a big slice each of Genoese focaccia), he asked me adelicate question.
Oh, before I get to that, I need to tell you that I lovefocaccia more than just about anything or anyone—except my new romanticinterest, Gianni Giannini. But despite my reputation for being tough andhardboiled I am not a cannibal. I do not want to devour Gianni exceptmetaphorically. So, I eat a lot of focaccia instead, either plain orcheese-filled and somehow—maybe because I’m so hyperactive—I don’t seem to puton weight.
Anyway, as I was starting to say, David, who’s crazy aboutwalking and hiking and focaccia, like me, was trotting along at my side theother day on the seafront promenade to Portofino when he asked me how powerfulthe Mafia is on the Italian Riviera.
To illustrate my answer, I told him about the unplanned,tragicomical lunch encounter I had not long after being transferred from theMinistry of the Interior in Rome to the DIGOS headquarters in Genoa, about fiveor six years ago.
Rewind to 2015 or 2016. On my day off, not knowing anyone inGenoa other than my godfather and his wife, Pinky, I went to a famous oldtrattoria in the hills west of town. The place is known for its handmade basilpesto. I was on my own. Not much fun, I agree. But I hadn’t met Gianni yet. Iguess I should also admit up front that I am equally crazy for Genoese pestoand will travel great distances to get the authentic item.
So, at this funky old trattoria way up in the hills, I wasenjoying the homemade linguine topped with basil and pine nuts they’d just groundup fresh in a stone mortar, and I was wondering why no one in the place wasoverweight. Then somehow—I can’t remember the details—I struck up aconversation with another lone diner, the only pudgy guy in the trattoria. Hewas sitting at the next table.
I could tell right away he was some kind of plainclothes cop.The guy was an innocuous-looking forty-something Southern Italian. His accent wasthick as minestrone. He had a baby face and long, soft whiskers. I have toadmit, he looked pretty silly and harmless. Later on, I learned he was anofficial of the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s tax police. I won’t mention hisname, for obvious reasons.
Discretion was not the forte of this young, know-it-all policeofficer. Clearly, he had no idea he was expatiating to a fellow cop—a newlyarrived undercover DIGOS operative who had been dealing with the Mafia for overtwenty years, mostly in Rome. That’s me. So, I let him talk on in his childishlyboastful way, deciding not to reveal my identity until the meal and theconversation were over.
“It’s not that there’s no organized crime here, Signora,”the young captain of the tax police said to me, glancing around to make sure weweren’t being overheard by the solicitous waitress, or captured surreptitiouslyon camera. “Let me put it this way. If I were a dictator with absolute powerand no limits on the means available to me,” he continued in a whisper, “amodern-day Mussolini, a Trump or a Putin, say, and I waged five years of totalwar against La Camorra in Naples, or the Sicilian mafia in Palermo, I stillwould not win.”
He paused at this point for the theatrical effect, thethreads of pasta and green oily sauce glistening on his hovering fork. “Give metwo days as dictator of Genoa,” he had continued, navigating the forkful ofpesto under his whiskers into his mouth, “just two days, and the war would beover.”
Chewing with alacrity, the tax police officer had added,“There simply is no comparison. Corruption and mobsters exist here, of course,but they’re marginal phenomena, and the worst Mafiosi in town are Albanian orLibyan people-traffickers, Russians, Chinese and Romanians, not Italians.”
At the time, the captain was right. But things have changedsince then. Organized crime has taken hold on the Riviera—not just Russian andAlbanian mafiosi but homegrown Italian gangs plus Chinese and North African traffickers—youname it.
Ironically, a few years after that lunch encounter, I read inthe papers that this officer had been charged with graft then drummed out ofthe corps. “Wolves to guard the sheep,” I remember saying to myself, “anItalian specialty.”
Then on second thought, after what happened on January 6,2021 in Washington, DC, the Trump-inspired insurrection, I realized that theworld is full of wolves guarding sheep, even in America. As a professional sheepdog,it’s my job to uncover the ravenous beasts wrapped in sheepskins and make surethe lambs do not wind up stewed or broiled and served in a local trattoriaafter the pesto. Well, I think you know what I mean. On that note, I wish allof you buon appetito! Until next time…
Ciao ciao from Red Riviera! –Daria
All food photos copyright Alison Harris
April 13, 2021
Red Riviera is Coming!
Red Riviera: A Daria Vinci InvestigationIts jaws open wide, a firefighting seaplane skims the glittering Gulf of Portofino on Italy’s jagged Ligurian coast, scooping up seawater, unlucky anchovies and a lone swimmer named Joe Gary. The superrich, retired Italian-American spook has mob connections and a dirty political past… Has he been snatched by accident or murdered?
Red Riviera is Commissioner Daria Vinci’s first investigation, a wild roller-coaster ride from the tangled trails of the Cinque Terre to glamorous Portofino and roughneck, roistering Genoa. It’s a Riviera made red by riotous bougainvillea—and the blood spilling from bags stuffed with butchered bodies.
Half-American, Daria Vinci is an outsider, the unlikely rising star of Genoa’s secretive Special Operations Directorate DIGOS. In Red Riviera, she must face down a Fascist police chief and fanatical coup-plotter, the CIA’s creepy local mastermind, a former World War Two Spitfire fighter pilot, and a plucky hundred-year-old marquise whose memory is as long as it is vengeful.
Praise:“A shocking premise, a stunning locale, and a complex web of history, politics, and crime “
“The most high-spirited, well-informed and exuberantly written thriller I’ve read in a long time––plus it’s funny as all get out. Commissioner Daria Vinci is unstoppable, even impersonating a corpse and almost freezing to death. Unforgettable, a gem!”
Harriet Welty Rochefort, bestselling author of Final Transgression: One Woman’s Tragic Destiny in War-torn France
Marvelous! Red Riviera is so well plotted, so sensitive to the present and past Italian history, so deep in characterization. I want to see more of Daria Vinci, Inspector Morbido, and that 100-year-old Marquise! What a cast. A grand, unputdownable read until the lights go out.”
Ronald C. Rosbottom, bestselling author of When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation
Red Riviera is wonderfully atmospheric, showcasing author David Downie’s intimate knowledge of all things Italian – the landscapes, cityscapes, and social mores, all drawn with the lightest of touches.”
Anton Gill, international bestselling author of The Sacred Scroll, City of Gold and Into Darkness
Red Riviera had me in its clutches from the start – and refused to let go. I gasped. I laughed out loud. And that was just the first chapter! A shocking premise, a stunning locale, and a complex web of history politics and crime.
Mathew Félix, award-winning author of A Voice Beyond Reason
If you like Aurelio Zen, Aimee Leduc, and Inspector Brunetti, you won’t be able to put down this captivating first adventure of Commissioner Daria Vinci
January 12, 2019
The Gardener of Eden Book Tour March 2019
Northern CaliforniaFriday, March 1, 6 pm, Catamaran Literary Salon, Santa Cruz:Lit Chat at The Tannery, 1050 River St., Suite118, Santa Cruz CA 95060 Santa Cruz, CA https://www.tanneryartscenter.org/eve...
In conversation with Don George, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd. Corte Madera, CA 94925, (415) 927-0960 https://www.bookpassage.com/event/det...
Monday, March 11, 6pm, Book Passage SF Ferry Building:Event with Left Coast Writers and Linda Watanabe McFerrin, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, (415) 835-1020 https://www.bookpassage.com/event/dav...
Wednesday, March 13, 7 pm, Readers’ Books, Sonoma:130 East Napa Street, Sonoma, CA, 95476 (707) 939-1779 https://www.readersbooks.com/
In conversation with artist and director of the School of Visual Arts of NYC Francis Di Tommaso
143 Seventh AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 783-3075 https://www.communitybookstore.net/ev...
Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, VASaturday, March 23, 4 pm, CRIME WAVEOmni Hotel 145 Ednam Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22903 Directions (434) 924-3296 vabook@virginia.edu
David DownieSunday, March 24, 2019 at 1 PM – 2 PM EDT, Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20008
In conversation with writer and editor Colleen Daly.
https://www.politics-prose.com/event/...
Advance Praise for The Gardener of Eden
“Original, lively,engaging, unexpected, sharp, and poetic. Downie is a master of the eerie andbizarre.”— Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
“A mysterypitch-perfect for the time and place. Compelling and more than a littleominous.”—Patricia Bracewell, best-selling author of the Emma of Normandy Trilogy
“Downie’spoetic, evocative, lyrical style sweeps you up and his characters live on longafter you’ve finished reading.”—Ellen Crosby, author of Harvest of Secrets
“Richlyimagined and masterful. Downie’s vivid and unforgettable characters, lushsettings and page-turning narrative had me reading all night.”—Tatiana deRosnay, internationally best-selling author of Sarah’s Key and The Rainmaker
“A haunting,skillfully-woven tale of love, loss, redemption and revenge, set in a smalltown with a very, very dark secret.”—Tim Utton, author of Lies
“Un-put-down-able!What a ride! My spine tingled. The perfect mix of sociopolitical commentary,suspense and love story, horrific without the spilling of blood. “—AngelaScipioni, author of Gently, Jolene
“Zowie! Movingand haunting, set in a place no sybarite, no globe-trotter, would ever go.”—ElatiaHarris, writer chef and artiste extraordinaire
“Strangediscoveries, terrifying encounters, and a late-in-life love story, withsurprises and memorable characters at every turn—exhilarating!”—Joanna Biggar,author of That Paris Year
“Gracefulwriting energized by passionate undercurrents elegantly woven into the story.Downie is at the top of his game.”—Janet Hulstrand, author of Demystifying the French
“Fear, lies,and violence beset an impoverished town…. Trump’s America, Downie implies, rifewith climate-change deniers and white supremacists… [this is] dystopian sciencefiction.”—Kirkus
“The tensionratchets up and the mysteries begin to unravel as Downie expertly captures thepowerlessness and courage of those in peril.”— Bill Kelly, Booklist
“Tensionmounts as James attempts to discreetly investigate what became of his flamewhile the authorities, tracking his every move, try to strong-arm him intoleaving before he figures out some of their truly horrific secrets.”—PublishersWeekly
November 6, 2018
The Gardener of Eden, my debut literary novel of suspense
The Gardener of Eden
, my new suspense novel
The Gardener of Eden
is my literary debut, a haunting and luminous novel of suspense. The story’s antihero, James, discovers dark secrets lurking beneath the stunning natural beauty of a dying timber town, Carverville, somewhere in Northern California or the Pacific Northwest. Love, lust, revenge and murder transform the idyllic Eden Resort–where James becomes the gardener–into a vision of Hell.“The Gardener of Eden is a novel of great originality” enthuses Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen, longlisted for the National Book Award, “lively, engaging, unexpected, sharp, and poetic. Downie is a master of the eerie and bizarre, and his character Beverley is one of the great literary creations of the century.”“In The Gardener of Eden,” says Patricia Bracewell, author of the Emma of Normandy trilogy, “David Downie evokes the fierce beauty of America’s northwest coast, peoples it with an assortment of appropriately offbeat characters and plunges them into a mystery that is pitch-perfect for the time and place. A compelling read that is more than a little ominous.”“David Downie writes like a poet. Not only will his evocative, lyrical style sweep you up in his story, but his characters will live in your head long after you’ve finished reading.”—Ellen Crosby, author of Harvest of SecretsClick to read more about
The Gardener of Eden
from the Pegasus Books catalogue.
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