Italian Crime Fiction

Former Italian Mafia boss, turned vigilante fugitive, Eva Santella - aka the Queen of Spades - owns a training school for assassins in the old country, but her main priority is traveling around the world to help those who cannot help themselves and turn to her as a last resort. Now, in this eighth book of the series, Eva Santella leaves Sicily to travel to the American south to search for three missing—and pregnant women. The state of Alabama has just outlawed abortion and Eva suspects there might be a connection. She doesn't know who is behind the disappearances, but is certain that if ...

Cleveland Noir joins Columbus Noir as the Akashic Noir series continues its tour of Ohio and navigates the dregs of the North Shore.

People mistake her for an average teenage girl … That’s often their last mistake. After being the youngest and the most dangerous assassin at the secret Italian facility that teaches young women how to kill, Rose abandoned her training to live as a normal teenager. Years later, her dark past and worst enemies catch up with her and destroy everything she holds dear. Now she only has one thing on her mind—a deadly vendetta. She won’t rest until there is blood on her hands one more time. Even if some of the blood ends up being her own. Blood & Roses is the first book in the Vigilante ...

THE FIRST SIX BOOKS OF THE QUEEN OF SPADES CRIME THRILLER SERIES. From award-winning journalist and USA TODAY Bestselling author Kristi Belcamino. What readers are saying: ★★★★★ “Another edge of your seat read by Kristi Belcamino.”
 ★★★★★“Queen of Spades is an action-driven book with a gripping storyline; I read it in one day as I simply could not put it down.” - MaryAnn Forbes
 ★★★★★WORTHY OF 10+ STARS” - Amazon ⚠️Warning! Be prepared to lose sleep and skip chores while reading this series! Book 1: Queen of Spades When Eva Santella’s father...

Early one morning, Silvio Lupanello, a big shot in the village of Vigata, is found dead in his car with his pants around his knees. The car happens to be parked in a rough part of town frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers, and as the news of his death spreads, the rumors begin. Enter Inspector Salvo Montalbano, Vigata's most respected detective, who has his doubts about the way Silvio died.

A beautiful but deadly serial killer is on the loose, dishing out gruesome and lethal punishment to men who reject her … When Rose arrives in Florida to meet her new love, she is stood up at the airport, but chalks it up to a misunderstanding. She soon learns there is more to her boyfriend’s disappearance than him going on a wild drinking bender. After a frustrating and ultimately fruitless search, Rose realizes he is being held against his will. Rose must risk everything to unravel the woman’s deadly plot before she once again loses the man she loves to a killer. Blood & Bone is the ...

My main priority as the mafia boss is protecting my queen. When I first laid eyes on Lexis as a boy those dark brown eyes and her pretty brown skin drew me in. I had to meet her. Get close to her. Remain close to her. We became best friends. I consoled her when she felt abandoned by her mother. My father dropped a bomb in my lap when I was sixteen. I learned I’d become the next mafia boss of the Esposito’s. Dad said I needed to let her go. Her grandmother told her to run away from me and don’t look back. She had no idea I sank my teeth into the mahogany beauty a long time ago. She’s...

Sacrificing one night with a ruthless Mafia Don was meant to save my family. Until his brother, Vito, captured my heart and ignited a war. Vito Vitali is Sin City's ultimate catch. Rich, dangerously handsome, and a god among men. He's the forbidden temptation I can't resist, Dominating both the Vegas Strip and my every thought. One night with his devilish brother was not only to clear my family's debt, It was my chance to uncover the truth behind my father's murder. Instead, it threw me into the arms of Vito, Sparking a fierce battle for loyalty and love. As Vito and I drew closer, his ...

The woman who was my childhood best friend and is now mine would never walk away. So, I thought. Why did she leave? Lexis and I had a wonderful life together. We were best friends growing up and later lovers. My brother Marco and I are the bosses of the Esposito crime family. Lexis ran one of many Espositos’ gambling houses. She didn’t take anyone’s mess. I loved how tough she was. And that she was mine. Five years later, after Mom mentioned her name at a holiday dinner, I thought about Lexis long and hard. It was time to find the woman I loved and bring her home. Warning this book ...

Nestled high in the Tuscan hills lies Villa Volpone, home to renowned crime writer Jonah Moore and his creative writing course. It’s also the last place retired DCI Dan Armstrong expected to spend his retirement! Dan’s no writer, but maybe this break will help him to think about the next chapter in his own life story? But only days into the course, Jonah Moore is found stabbed to death with his award-winning silver dagger! And Dan finds himself pulled out of retirement with a killer to catch.

Mission: get close to a mafia heir, not get pregnant with his baby. I stepped into his world as a challenger in a street race. Dario Marchetti, known as an unstoppable predator on the asphalt, is dangerous, alluring and the heir of the Marchetti Empire. My mission’s clear: infiltrate the mafia and bring them down. But as the engines revive, one look into his dark eyes and I know I’m in trouble. I’m inches away from victory when he almost runs me over the edge. He rescues me before the car slips into the abyss, and I’m gone with the wind. Then a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ...

Auntie Poldi, sassy, brassy, and 60, moves to Sicily for a quiet alcohol-fuelled retirement. A murder spoils her plans. This is the first novel in a charming new mystery series set in Sicily and laced with Italian sensuality and humor. It features an amateur sleuth, the sassy and foul-mouthed Auntie Poldi. Recently widowed Poldi moves to Sicily in order to quietly drink herself to death with a sea view, but fate intervenes. When she finds the corpse of a young man on the beach, his face blown off with a sawn-off shotgun, she becomes a potential suspect in his murder case.

I'm employed by Lucas Esposito Jr., the infamous mafia boss of the Esposito Crime Family. His girlfriend Lexis disappeared while I was on duty. During my search, I've taken up residence in a three-star hotel on Chicago's North Side. While I should keep my focus on my task at hand, this vixen somehow managed to slip her way into my life. Will our connection prove to be a fleeting flame or an unbreakable bond?

One glance at the woman in that video, and my life was forever changed. She’s a fashion designer. Her growth in the fashion industry is important to her. The spark in her eyes tells me she’s a fighter. That sharp tongue of hers backs up my suspicions. Fashion designer Claire Ainsley doesn’t date. She damn sure doesn’t believe in love. She’s got a secret and so do I. My unconventional way of making her my wife and Donna of my family may cause those around me to look at me sideways. Especially since I’m at war with a New York crime family who’s coming after the Romano crime ...

She’s the enemy’s daughter, but I’ll burn the world to make her mine. When you’re born into a powerful Mafia family, you learn that control is everything. And love? It’s just another weakness. But then she walked into my life: Carlotta D’Amici. Fierce and sassy, wrapped in the kind of curves that could bring a man to his knees. I saved her once, and now she’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. Our families have been at war for decades, so getting close to her is dangerous. But her eyes hold a secret that keeps me coming back for more. Tangled up in a world she can’t ...

I'm Franco DeLuca—a mafia man who lives for power and family. My past is a scar that leaves no room for love, so they say I have no heart. When a client owing me a substantial debt mysteriously disappears, I find myself at his restaurant, confronted by a spitfire of a woman who doesn't care that I'm a made man. Our verbal sparring turns dark and dangerous, and soon she becomes my captive. Under my roof, every moment blurs the lines between duty and desire. I tell myself I want nothing more—my dark past forbids it—but she pushes my limits, relentless in her pursuit to uncover ...

I was sent to kill the Mafia Don. I never expected to fall for him. In the darkest corners of the world, I'm known as the Huntress: The world's deadliest assassin. Finding a golden arrow on my last mission, I take it as a souvenir. My next target: Vincenzo, a dangerous Mafia Don. Before I could complete the kill, the tip of the arrow penetrates my skin. Instantly, I see him in a new light. The way his eyes feast on every inch of my curves, like a hungry wolf, ready to devour its prey. His skin illuminates in the moonlight as his lips becomes my new target. My killer instincts vanish, giving...

Morris Duckworth teaches English to the pampered rich of Verona, and Morris is not pleased. Living a meager existence in a squalid apartment, he regards his privileged students with envy and disdain, first wreaking revenge by petty theft and then, like all good criminals, graduating to grander larceny. When one of those students, a beautiful but vapid heiress named Massimina, falls in love with him, Morris can almost smell upward mobility.

When private investigator, Dan Armstrong, and his girlfriend, Anna, are invited to the gorgeous island of Elba for a much-needed break, he jumps at the chance. The thought of sun-drenched shores makes Dan promise Anna he won't “play detective” for a whole week… Their luxurious hotel, with its wonderful food and picturesque seaside views, seems the perfect escape, especially with Dan's best friend Virgilio and his wife joining them. But the calm shatters with a sinister encounter and a sudden, suspicious death..

Hot Mr. Scrooge is my neighbor. Hope The man loathes Christmas. What person doesn’t warm up to the best holiday of the year? The cabin I purchased mentioned it needed light work, not a gut renovation. Looks nothing like the picture. The brooding beast next door said he’d help spruce up the place if it will get me to leave him alone. Deal. Because who wants to be around the Grinch longer than they have to? Even if he’s tall. Has a gorgeous face you can stare at all day. And a body you’d love to mount on your sleigh repeatedly. Then I wondered could I help Mr. Non-Christmas ...