Books by Richard Walmsley

I lived, loved and worked for nine long years in Puglia in the deep south of Italy’s heel. From 2005 until 2008, I taught English at the University of Salento, Lecce – that amazing, baroque city that surprises all who visit it. It was my Italian ‘girlfriend’ who suggested that I should write mystery novels. She became the reluctant heroine of the series of three novels set in Puglia.

The three novels, Dancing to the Pizzica, The Demise of Judge Grassi and Leonardo’s Trouble with Molecules are stories of suspense, intrigue, romance and the insidious hold of the mafia in Italy. But however serious the plot in each story, you will certainly have occasion to smile – or even laugh from time to time, as you become familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the largely Italian cast.

My ambition is simply to create entertaining stories that adults, young or old, will enjoy reading. My youngest ‘fan’ so far was only thirteen. No upper limit reached yet! I have also written a book of not so short stories entitled ‘Long Shorts’. Get to know Adam and Rosaria in the first three novels and follow the adventures – and mishaps – in which they become involved.

There is a new series of novels – in the same genre. The stories are set in Abruzzo – a region in the centre of Italy. Fortunately, or not, depending on your viewpoint, Abruzzo is largely undiscovered by the tourist industry. The Adriatic Sea bathes its coast while the Apennine mountains rise magnificently in the background. Abruzzo is one of Europe’s least spoilt regions. A new set of characters, led by Commissario Beppe Stancato, are waiting to introduce you to new and intriguing cases. The first in the series is called “The Case of the Sleeping Beauty“. There are another three titles in the Abruzzo series of novels: A Close Encounter with Mushrooms – a story of misplaced revenge by mushroom poisoning – and The Vanishing Physicist. This story, based on a real life situation, finds Beppe Stancato involved in a suspenseful hunt for an abducted scientist who goes missing from Abruzzo’s advanced, mountain top physics laboratory. Death Is Buried – Commissario Beppe Stancato’s fourth case – concerns two young children exposed to toxic waste buried by the mafia in the Abruzzo countryside. Beppe also has to come to terms with the fact that the Police Headquarters has acquired a new boss, a lively and intelligent young woman. Two very diverse challenges for our Commissario. The series continues with “The Vendetta Tree” and “Commissario Stancato’s Blind Date.”

A free-standing novel, The Curse of Collemaga, completes the picture. It is a novel about a modern-day sorceress and her hold over a small mountain community. There is an element of black humour throughout a captivating story. The town’s name and location have been changed!

Please feel free to browse below, or you can head straight to my Amazon author page.