“Do not miss Red Riviera” New Review Praises David Downie’s Latest
The Part-Time Parisian's new review of Red Riviera praises the tactfully drawn history and landscape of Italy's coast in Downie's new thriller.
David Downie made his career as a travel writer, penning famous and popular guides to European cities like Paris and Amsterdam. Not only is he obsessed with traveling, but like any writer he is as much a researcher as a chronicler. For this reason, the Italian Riviera (his current home), feels unique and alive in Red Riviera. In their review of the new thriller, The Part-Time Parisian delves into the unique history of the Italian coast that works under the hood to help make the novel a compelling read.
Excerpts Below. Read the whole review Here. And buy the book Here.
"Like the best of mysteries, Red Riviera has deep roots in the tumultuous past, World War II.
The war was not kind to Italy, which had fallen under the spell of a bombastic leader...
Some of the people and much of the philosophy lived on. This book is the story of a talented police commissioner from Genoa, a woman rising toward the pinnacle of the police establishment at the same time she fears approaching spinsterhood, and her efforts to learn why a retired American spy, a native of Genoa, disappeared at the same time Canadair water bombers were trying to extinguish fires in the forests and brush overlooking the Ligurian Coast.
That’s not the only problem she has. HER vice questor is a couple of notches more diabolical than the one Guido Brunetti must deal with in Venice and he’s not convinced modern Italy is ready for democracy."
Week One of National Poetry Month 2019
National Poetry Month is upon us! This year ASP has decided to celebrate by featuring several poems each week curated by different members of the ASP team. Now that the first week is over, let’s take a look back at the poets and poems we have featured thus far.
Craving More Grace? Check out the Poet Laureate on the NEA’s “Art Works”
Craving more Grace Cavalieri? Of course you are! Maryland’s newest Poet Laureate is active, about, and spreading the word; that is, her words. Even though Poet Laureate is largely an honorary position (it is unpaid, and one is “honored” more with a title than a job much like a knighthood or a medal of freedom), Grace Cavalieri seems determined to become the most active and community-focused Poet Laureate in Maryland’s history. Recently she was featured on Art Works the official podcast for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Grace Cavalieri’s Interview on Midday with Tom Hall
Grace Cavalieri stopped by WYPR last week for an interview on “Midday” with Tom Hall. The Poet Laureate and author of ASP’s Other Voices, Other Lives, mused on her life and work, meditating on the loss of her late husband, and reading from her deep poetry catalog. This interview is well worth the 40 minutes it takes to impart the important wisdom of one of Maryland’s foremost sages.