Murder in Trastevere
Series: A Roman Holiday Mystery #2
Author: Jen Collins Moore
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 286
Setting: Rome, Italy
Release Date: May 18, 2023, by Level Best Books
Format(s): ebook, paperback
Summary:
After a decade dominating the expat scene in Rome, Faye Masters has had enough beautiful art, delicious food, and bureaucratic nonsense to last a lifetime. She’s just about decided to pack up and head home when a rival drops dead at one of Faye’s famous cocktail parties. Rumors fly that Faye was the intended target, but the police think Faye might just be an attention-seeking poisoner.
Faye refuses to let the cloud of suspicion stop her from completing a self-imposed 25-picture Caravaggio Challenge. Or keep her from assisting friends Maggie White and Thomas Evans on their painting tours of Rome. But when the leads fizzle out and a series of accidents hit close to home, Faye accepts her own life is on the line. She must search for a killer while keeping up appearances at some of Rome’s most iconic sights.
Character Interview with Faye Masters
How did you and your author meet?
Jen Collins Moore and I are old friends. We first met in her book Murder in the Piazza which, I am sorry to say, had a pretty minor role for me. Calling me a sidekick is being generous.
I was delighted when Jen announced plans to let me stumble over the body in Murder in Trastevere, then she said I was still going to be on the sidelines while my friend Maggie solved the case.
I said, “No, thank you.”
I lobbied hard for the role of lead detective and, after a first draft with Maggie at the helm, I managed to claim my place as main character and sole detective. Even Jen agrees I was the right choice for this story.
Why did this writer decide to feature you in a book?
She didn’t! I took all my persuading to land the starring role.
Jen had a funny idea that a series should feature the same detective in each book. (Fun fact, the series was originally called the Maggie White Mysteries, but when I nosed in, she changed it to the Roman Holiday Mysteries.)
Now we both agree it’s more interesting when you get to know different characters. Plus, I’m the Queen Bee of the expat society in Rome. Who better to solve a murder here than the woman who knows everyone?
Do you have any friends or family helping you out?
I don’t want to sound like I have a big head, but I solved the murder of Rowena Burke alone. Or at least, mostly alone. But I did have some company.
Maggie and Burt White were kind enough to let me stay with them when the police suggested it wasn’t safe to stay at my own home. (Someone gets poisoned in your home and all of a sudden people think your life is in danger!). And Thomas Evans, a rather dashing painting instructor acted as my bodyguard in some sticky situations.
As a former sidekick myself I don’t want to minimize their roles, but the solution was all me.
Do you have a regular job and investigate on the side or are you a full time detective?
I am what I believe is called “independently wealthy.” I have a lovely apartment in Rome and several bank accounts that my soon-to-be-ex-husband knows nothing about. It gives me the freedom to live well in this city I love.
What is the funniest thing that happens to you or another character in this story?
Funny? As in coming up with a plan for all my friends to join me in forming a Caravaggio Società with a mission to see all twenty-five of Caravaggio’s paintings in Rome and having none of them show up? As in trooping through the great museums and churches of Rome in search of the bad boy of the Renaissance’s art alone?
It wasn’t actually so bad. I did see some truly wonderful art. And some truly horrific stuff. (Think young woman holding a head she’s just hacked off a man and you get the idea.)
Have you solved other cases or is this your first one?
This is my first and, I hope, my last! I thought it would be glamorous to be wrapped up in a murder investigation, but when my friends decided I was behind Rowena Burke’s poisoning, it got serious.
Do you have a gift or special talent?
I’m a people person, and I know how folks think. I can get anyone to talk to me, and I can make it seem like their comments don’t bother me. My friends think this type of charisma makes me shallow, but there’s more to me than I let on.
Who is the most important individual in your life?
Me. Does that sound terrible? My husband left me for a student and I learned most of my so-called friends are, at best, indifferent acquaintances. The police think someone might be trying to kill me and I’m not sure they’re wrong. Right now, the only person I can count on is myself.
What is your ideal vacation?
I live in the world’s most beautiful city! My life is a vacation. At least, that’s how it looks on the outside. On the inside, I’m working like crazy to keep anyone from finding out how hard it is to hold everything together.
If you could change anything about your life what would it be?
Where to begin? Better taste in husbands. A really impressive art collection. A croissant recipe that I can make in an hour. Truthfully, I just want to know whether the poison that killed Rowen Burke was intended for me.
Roman Holiday Mystery Series
About the Author
Jen Collins Moore transports readers to Rome in the Roman Holiday Mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mystery Weekly and Masthead: The Best New England Crime Stories. She is president of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland and a founding member of Sleuths and Sidekicks. A transplanted New Englander, she lives in Chicago with her husband and two boys.
Contact the Author
Giveaway
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Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
It was so much fun getting to be back in Faye’s head for this interview. Thank you for including me!
You are so welcome Ms. Moore. Faye sounds like a fabulous character.