Roma, Underground

Roma Series Book #1

by Gabriel Valjan

An impossibly smart forensic accountant.
An amateur archaeologist.
Stolen Italian beauty that brings them together.

All former analyst Alabaster Black wanted was to run away from her employer, a covert U.S. organization called Rendition, and immerse herself in the beauty and wondrous culture of Rome, Italy. But when she meets a handsome investigator and passionate amateur archaeologist, Dante, and learns that he is looking for thieves of priceless Italian artifacts, she can’t resist. She has to help.

With the assistance of Roma Underground – Dante’s band of friends and colleagues dedicated to mapping the city beneath Rome – the trap is set. However, they’re up against men who are far from common criminals: they’re the proof that Alabaster’s past isn’t going to stay secret, and even her new love and the strong bonds of friendship in Rome may not be enough.

Action-packed, filled with mystery, romance, friendships, and rich Italian flavors, Roma, Underground will keep you reading well into the night, until you read the last sentence – and grab the next book in the Roma Series.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

342 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2012

About the author

Gabriel Valjan is the author of The Company Files, and the Shane Cleary Mysteries with Level Best Books. He has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Silver Falchion awards. He received the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story and the 2024 Shamus Award forBest Private Investigator. Gabriel is a member of the Historical Novel Society, ITW, MWA, and Sisters in Crime. He lives in Boston and answers to a tuxedo cat named Munchkin.

Reviews

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept for Roma, Underground by Gabriel Valjan…a woman on the run and an investigator and archaelogist on a treasure hunt…of sorts.

If you like procedural novels, Roma is for you. Gabriel Valjan allows Bianca to take us step by step through her investigation, though there is more than one mystery going on.

Want to visit Roma? See some sights? Eat some great food…and lots of it? Then lets follow Bianca as she helps her ‘boyfriend’ solve the mystery of who is smuggling stolen historical artifacts out of the country.

Bianca’s step by step digital search and quick mind will have her ‘gang’ tiptoeing through danger as she tries to avoid discovery from her past employer, a covert US organization. I like that her investigation mirrored a forensic murder investigation, just surfing the internet instead of dissecting a body. She makes me think of Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. You must find the parts and pieces and put them together.

Gabriel Valjan is very detail oriented in his descriptions of places and food. He takes us Underground, through caves, and dining in restaurants, showcasing the food enough to make your mouth water. My only complaint is sometimes the details dogged down the pacing, slowing the story and losing the sense of suspense and danger. This could be because I am an action junkie!!!

I questioned how I would get through the entire series, but the deeper into the story I went, the more involved I became. I was already interested in Bianca, but the peripheral characters grew around her, creating their own dilemmas that drew her in, bringing with them an increasing sense of danger.

Roma, Underground’s mystery is wrapped up nicely, but Bianca’s story is still left to our imagination…or the next book, Wasp’s Nest. Thank goodness I do not have to wait, because the entire series is available.

I received Roma Underground free of charge from Gabriel Valjan.

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[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Underground, Roma! I have never been to Rome but I think it would be an awesome city to visit. So much history going all the way back to the 1st century. But there is another city. How much treasures underground is too great to imagine. The underground Rome is a big part of this story and it's treasures. Alabaster/Bianca Black, who is hiding out from a US organization called Rendition, she meets Dante, who is an investigator. They find that there are many artifacts and treasures being stolen and they set out to set a trap to catch the thieves. We learn the back story of both Bianca and Dante both along with other characters important to the story. Reading a book that takes place in Rome to me is fascinating and this book brought the flavor of Rome alive. From the descriptions of the food, the language and the history was written in such a way that it almost felt like I was along on the adventure. I could picture in my minds eye, the underground city described. The underground Rome is not the only part of the story. The author wrote a very suspenseful thriller that not only takes place in Rome but we get a glimpse into the world of a secret organization and a pharmaceutical company and genetics. I am eager to read the rest of the books in the series.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting new series- If you like mystery suspense - or you like Rome - you will like this book. The author does a great job at creating interesting characters - both intriguing and funny. One of my favorites is Dante's boss Gennaro. His background is very moving - but he has a great sense of humor as well. And you get a interesting look at Italian bureaucracy at Dante and Gennaro's workplace. One of my favorite things about the book is how Rome is really a character as well. You can feel what it's like being there, and also eating there! (there are some amazing food descriptions!). The volunteer groups who patrol and take care of the underground in Rome are actually real - I found it fascinating to think of all the centuries of history down there - and how much is still unmapped or undiscovered.
The book also includes the first chapters of the follow-up to this book at the end - and based on those I am really looking forward to the sequel!

[Mayra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alabaster Black is hiding from the United States Government. Over the past two years she’s had different identities. As a forensic accountant, she does forensic investigations of people’s finances in order to protect the country’s internal financial system and stop dangerous greed. But her latest report to secret organization Rendition ends badly and so now she’s on the run in Italy under yet another fictitious name: Bianca.

In beautiful, historical Rome, she meets government investigator and amateur archaeologist Dante, member of Roma Underground, and soon their relationship takes her on an adventure underneath the city itself. Before long, however, she’s being followed, Italian artifacts start disappearing, and the two of them set out to trap the guilty parties.

This was an enjoyable read! Conspiracy, double identities, car chases and espionage, all against the backdrop of magical Rome, with its great food and marvelous art history, make this an entertaining, intriguing read. Indeed, the setting is one of the most engaging aspects of the novel. The author describes the foods and locations in vivid detail, bringing the story to life. I liked the heroine. She’s strong, smart, and pragmatic, kind of like a female James Bond. At times the pace drags a bit but on the whole this in a well written and suspenseful novel with a strong heroine that will be enjoyed by fans of the genre.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Roma Underground by Gabriel Valjan (Blog Tour) Roma Underground is done well. The author starts out with a woman we meet as Bianca N. We do learn a little about her past. Her name is mentioned, as Alabaster Black. You may think well, is that her real name or not? We also meet up with Dante, Alessandro, Farrugia and Gennaro. We also run into a few more people along the way.
 
What out a bit of a boring start with this story. It does get much better. Somehow this group gets involved with a smuggling artifact. Why is Bianca recruited by “Rendition”? Who are they, and what do they want?
 
Though you do not know how this group gets brought in to start a hoax? You will just be wandering in the world is going on and what it roughly about. Someone is stealing artifacts or art artifacts that have been going missing. The hoax is started by an idea that is shared by Dante.
You do go about learning about Roma Underground and what happens there along the history of Rome. I can not wait to find out what to happen next in the next book named “Wasp Nest.” This book is worth the reading and it offers so much more.

[LadyTechie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Unfortunately, I am traveling and on a mobile device but suffice it to say it had a wonderful mystery, great characters and some of the best armchair travel in Rome I have had when reading. There were even some great recipes that I highlighted and hope they are real. Going right into book 2 Wasp's Nest.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

With some books you are pleased to discover a treasure trove, and so it is with this one. It starts as a thriller about international antiquities theft, financial malfeasance, shadowy government bureaus, corruption, and more. We also get enough subplots and characters to start a raft of books. Add to it the history and language lessons, the culture of Italy, the geography of Rome (above ground and below) and loving, elegant, mouth-watering descriptions of meals worthy of a gourmand. It's great to find an education into the finer things in just a few hundred pages, on top of a good story. Jam-packed with good things- give it a try and see if you agree- and if you like it, there are more in the series!

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roma, Underground is a police procedural novel wrapped up in a continuing mystery story of a secret government agency. The series is up to four novels (see below) and set to continue. The female protagonist of this series, wonderfully named Alabaster when she isn't incognito as Bianca, works off and on for the secret government agency. She teams up with law enforcement in Roma, Underground to help them trap some criminals red-handed.

The book is an interesting cross between TV's Alias and Camilleri's Montalbano books. Each book in the series gives the reader a police case from law enforcement's perspective with all the teamwork needed to bring down the bad guys, plus there is the secret conspiracy stuff that draws our heroine into places she doesn't want to be, including dangerous situations.

While the police case proceeds to a positive ending with Bianca's help, Alabaster has to deal with some spooky things and scary people having to do with her on again off again employer. This is a very entertaining construction, and sure to please fans of both sorts of stories.

There is lots of local Roman flavor in the details of the story, with locations in Rome used well, and providing moments for the author to wax lyrical about such varied things as modern garbage collection and Emperor Nero's place, in consecutive paragraphs! As the slow-to-develop romantic interest in the novel, Dante, says: "This is Rome. The living, the dead, the past and the present - it's all the same here in Rome."

The world under Rome's streets, referenced in the book's title, plays a part in the story, too, so we get some very interesting visits to underground Rome, in the company of Dante, who is part of a group that maps the underground city.

"Roma Underground is a group of speleologists. We have specialized training in the basics of archaeology, climbing, and SCUBA, and our objective is to explore and map the underground city of Rome."

Alabaster/Bianca is a psychologically complex character who makes a wonderful anchor for the series. She is a professional in the very nerdy profession of forensic accounting. That doesn't mean men don't find her intriguing enough to attempt a romantic relationship with her.

Those men should be forewarned, however, and perhaps demand a user's manual first, because Alabaster/Bianca is one difficult woman to love! She is repressed, conflicted, morally ambiguous, adventurous, a number nerd, blunt, vain, insecure, and emotionally distant behind her tendency to intellectualize situations. Dante reflects at one point: "...she was the hyper-rational one, almost without a need for emotion."

The author's writing style is literate with light humor and lovely turns of phase, making some of his prose read like prose poetry. The style lightens for the purely police procedural sections, moving the crime story along nicely. There is a skillful weaving together of past and present to tell the story and to build suspense. There are some vulgarities but it is not excessive. The narrative style is third-person limited usually from Alabaster/Bianca's point of view if she is in the scene, and from the point of view of other characters when she is not in the scene.

What about the mysterious government agency, Rendition? Well, when they recruited Alabaster/Bianca they told her that they acted against destructive greed that threatened the U.S. economy, which sets them against industrialists who try to cheat they capitalist system to the detriment of the country. There turns out to be plenty of leeway in that description to create some threatening situations for industrialists and for the forensic accountants who work for the agency. That story continues throughout the series.

Please visit my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews. I received a review-copy of this book. This is my honest review.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roma Underground is the first book in the Roma series, introducing us to a set of colorful characters both Italian and American, and takes place in Rome, both above and underground. I was thoroughly entertained as I read this intelligent and well-written thriller with its main character Alabaster Black a.k.a. Bianca Nerini, a kick-ass female forensic accountant who is hiding in Rome from the covert US organization she used to work for called Rendition.

While in Rome, she meets Dante, one of my favorite characters from this cast. He's a friendly good-tempered man who is also an investigator and member of the Roma Underground, a group of professionals whose love of history has them mapping the city beneath Rome, much like amateur archaeologists, with the occasional discovery of precious artifacts.

Add in Dante's boss Gennaro, a hardened but good-hearted cussing man whose wife was murdered by the Mafia, Alessandro, their office mate and Farrugia, the brilliant police investigator and this group forms a band determined to nab the ring leader of the professional thieves stealing Italian artifacts. Meantime, Alabaster is secretly contacted by a mysterious person and discovers she is being followed. After becoming accustomed to living in Rome she wonders if she needs to disappear again.

With so much going on, the plot builds and the reader is left speculating about conspiracy, the Mafia, secret organizations and where the friendship this group develops is going to take them. Valjan ties up everything nicely at the end with the last line of the book making me want to jump immediately into the second book in this series.

I simply loved Valjan's description of things, places, people and situations. Nothing is dull in this book. The author's knowledge of Italian history, its culture, and literature in general is evident in his writing. And the food! I was hungry every time I read this book. It's true that Italians know how to enjoy food and most times when the band met, it was at a different restaurant each time so they could delight their palate as they plotted.

My mother's family is from Rome and I've been there enough times to know that Valjan depicted the Romans well, from their expressions to their way of living. The men in this book can sure cook. Both Gennaro and Dante reminded me of my own dad (who cooks very well) and also my uncle and his son in Rome who both know how to cook fabulously.

This was a great beginning to a series that promises more conspiratorial action, suspense and unforgettable characters. From the author's note, I discovered and was so impressed that Valjan wrote this novel while undergoing cancer treatments. I would love to see this series made into a 4-part movie series like the British TV series (3 90-minute films) based on Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin.

If you love thrillers without too much violence but with intelligent and humorous repartees and descriptions, a complex but smart plot with a great twist at the end, then you are in for a good time with this book. I'm now Gabriel Valjan's latest fan and cannot wait to read Wasp's Nest, the next book in the series.

Note: There is some profanity in English and Italian, mainly f-words, and some crude language.

[Victor Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabriel Valjan in his new book, “Roma Underground” Book One in the Roma Series published by Winter Goose Publishing introduces us to Alabaster Black.

From the back cover: Savvy forensic accountant Alabaster Black is hiding in Rome from her former employer, covert U.S. organization “Rendition.” While there under an assumed name she meets Dante, an investigator, erstwhile explorer and member of the Roma Underground, a band of amateur archaeologists who map the city beneath Rome. With Italian artifacts disappearing at an alarming rate, Alabaster and Dante search for answers and create a trap for the thieves. Through a mysterious online contact Alabaster learns she is being followed, and with her safety at risk she is forced to rethink her chosen alliances and discover hidden truths about herself.

I did not know that there was a Roma Underground. I thought all of the history of Rome was above ground. So for that alone this book was an eye opener. Then Mr. Valjan takes us into the culture and food of Rome. That is an experience also. I had no idea that there was such a profession as forensic accountant. Wow, learning all the time. And on top of that if your boss does not like your report you can get killed for it. Which is why Alabaster is in Rome on the first place. She is in hiding. Then she meets Dante and the story kicks into high gear. Conspiracy, disappearing Italian artifacts, car chases and espionage are just some of what Dante and Alabaster have to deal with. This is a thriller mystery that will keep you flipping pages as fast as you can read to keep up with what is going on. Dante and Alabaster are quite interesting characters. I am so looking forward to the next book in this series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Italy Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Remy G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Gabriel Valjan dedicates this first entry of the Roma series to Andrea Camilleri and Warren Larivee. The novel itself follows a forensic accountant named Alabaster Black, who goes by the alias Bianca, who hides in Rome from her former workplace, an American organization named Rendition. During her stay, she meets an investigator named Dante, who is a member of the titular Roma Underground, archaeologists seeking to map the city’s underworld. National artifacts begin to disappear at a quick pace, with the two seeking answers, and Alabaster learning from an online contact that someone is following her, making her reconsider her alliances.

Dante is one of the only people to whom Alabaster gives her contact information, meeting him for lunch, with the book itself full of Roman history, and revealing that the protagonist held various occupations. There’s plenty of helpful description about Rome and its various highlights, with its streets being far more restrictive than those in America, although she definitely prefers the city to her experience in Lucerne, Switzerland. She eventually begins keeping track of possible surveillance of her apartment, and encounters several characters such as the Italians Gennaro and Alessandro.

The ending of the novel feels somewhat abrupt, although it would spawn a sequel, Wasp’s Nest, which takes Alabaster back to America. The writer at the end acknowledges many individuals that helped him along the way, such as his friends and colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, indicating that he wrote the story while undergoing cancer treatment, and that it’s an extended version of a short story called “Alabaster.” Overall, this is an engaging thriller that history enthusiasts, given the various factoids throughout the text, will certainly appreciate, and while there are parts that could have been better, this reviewer would very much recommend it.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Story
The best way to hide from others is to take a whole new identity. You do something that you wouldn't do. That's what Alabaster Black does when she is hiding from her employer that is part of a U.S covert organization called Rendition. She joins a group of amateur archeologists who are mapping out underground Rome. She meets an investigator and teams up to work with him. Their goal is to stop the thieves who are stealing the treasures of Rome.
What I Think
As I read this book I kind of felt like I was taking a trip to Rome. The author described the city as a place he is familiar with and one that he loves. I liked that it has thrilling moments. And that it is a solid mystery. I really like how the author combined archeology in the mystery. I thought of Indiana Jones as I read the story. Even though it really isn't like any of the Indiana Jones stories. I think it was just the archeology link.
Who Should Read This Book
If you are a fan of suspense and mystery novels, you will enjoy this book. It is a solid mystery that is well written. And it is clear from the get go that this book is the first in a series. So you will be able to see characters from this book again in other settings. But I also think that individuals who have wanted to visit Rome may enjoy this story. The author shows you the city and he seems to know it well. So you armchair travelers might want to check out this book.
Disclaimer
I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but the opinions are all mine.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.

Roma Underground is about Alabaster Black, aka Bianca Nerini, a genius forensic accountant who is in hiding. She is tempted to run again because she thinks they have found her but she decides to stay and take the risk because she and her new friend, Dante, have come across a mystery that is just down her alley. She can't resist helping him figure it out.

There are some interesting and unique characters. Bianca is a strong, smart woman who has been alone for a long time and has difficulty trusting anyone. Dante is almost too much of a gentleman, which is so out of character for an Italian! There are quite a few characters, all pretty unique, but my favorite has to be Silvio, a co-worker of Dante's who is trying to learn English. He doesn't quite have it down yet, though. A good example is when his boss had a phone call: "...I have him holding himself on line two."

Gabriel Valjan has incorporated Italian history and cuisine in Roma Underground which, I believe, many readers will enjoy. I'm not one for detailed descriptions, especially of food, but that's a personal preference. There are some twists and a good mystery, or two, and a great last line. I'm looking forward to reading Wasp's Nest, the next book in the series.

[Barbara Rindge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This suspenseful novel follows Alabaster Black, a.k.a. Bianca Nerini, a forensic accountant, as she tries to hide in Rome from her former “mysterious” employer, Rendition, after one of her contacts disappears and is presumed dead. While in Rome, she meets Dante and gets involved with his archaeological hobby of exploring Rome’s underground.

Dante is also an investigator who is trying to figure out who is stealing and selling Rome’s ancient artifacts.


The two of them devise a scheme to trap the thieves by making up a fake discovery. Meanwhile, while they are trying to figure out who these players are, Bianca learns that she has been found hiding in Rome. Lots of characters are presented, each with lots of personality, as we’re led around Rome, both above and below ground.

The story is fast moving, but at times, I found that I was getting lost trying to keep all the characters straight. Also, some things were explained in really technical terms and I wasn’t that interested in the details. But that’s just me, that sort of stuff doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m sure others will appreciate the technicality of the descriptions! All in all, it was a fun read and kept me hooked all the way through.

[Marilyn Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roma Underground is the first in a four book series by author Gabriel Valjan. It falls firmly in the Mystery/Suspense category - excitement and danger without a lot of gore and brutality. Romance a possibility, but not important to the plot. Right up my alley. I always enjoy strong female characters and Alabaster Black is definitely that. She's smart, resourceful and in hiding in Italy. Then we have several great male characters filling out the story including Dante (their relationship is left very ambiguous for a long time), his boss Genaro, his co-worker Alessandro, police officer Farrugia and Professor Moretti. By the end I felt like I knew each character well and could picture them in my mind as I read the story.

That same descriptive strength is show when describing the amazing cuisine (many meetings were held after dining in a cafe), the humid weather, the town itself and lastly, what it was like to go underground and explore. You could almost smell the musty, dank, putrid air. There was one moment underground in the dark that made me shiver, but I don't want to spoil the moment for you.

An entertaining read that took me out of my surroundings and whisked me away to foreign lands and great intrigue. Next up - Wasp's Next.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roma Underground was an interesting book to read as it was a sort of mix between Indiana Jones and James Bond. I enjoyed the mix between covert and archaeology. I was particularly fond of Alabaster Black. She was a strong female character with an interesting name. I liked the fact that the author gave the main character an original name instead of a common one. The book began at a slow pace, but quickly sped up a few chapters in. I was quickly addicted to the book, I literally could not put it down! I finished the whole book in two days! I can't wait to read book two!

I was gifted a free copy of this book by the author or publisher.