Val Culley: TRAVEL WRITING

I began writing about Italy more than ten years ago when I started Best of Bergamo, my first travel website.

As a regular visitor to Bergamo in Lombardy in northern Italy, I felt that I wanted to share the discoveries I had made about this magical city with others.

My website www.bestofbergamo.com launched
more than 10 years ago

I wanted to recommend my favourite restaurants and shops and pass on useful advice, such as buying a three-day ticket to use on the buses and funicular railway because it saves you money. And so I started blogging on www.bestofbergamo.com.

Another of my favourite Italian destinations is Sorrento, a beautiful seaside resort in Campania in southern Italy. I have been visiting Sorrento for more than 30 years and have learnt a lot about its history, culture and local culinary specialities so it made sense to start www.bestofsorrento.com to share some of this knowledge with others.

I also love the Veneto region and frequently visit Padua, Venice and Treviso, so, in 2012, I started www.bestofpadua.co.uk with tips and advice for visitors to Padua and other towns in the Veneto region.

My profile of Bergamo was the lead
feature in Italia! magazine

In June 2011, I made my debut in the magazine, Italia!, with my feature, The Beauty of Bergamo, a six-page guide to the city. Also for Italia! magazine, I subsequently wrote a six-page guide to Cava de’ Tirreni, putting the spotlight on an ancient and often overlooked town south of both Naples and Sorrento that has been dubbed ‘the Bologna of the south’ because of its elegant, porticoed streets.

Crave magazine in Hong Kong invited me to contribute to their special Italian edition in 2017 with a seven-page feature, A Salute to Sorrento.

I have showcased my favourite Italian hotels in my website Best of Italy Hotels, which recommends good value, high quality hotels in different parts of Italy, some of which I have stayed in multiple times. Visit www.bestofitalyhotels.blogspot.com to see my recommendations.

I am fascinated by ‘small-town Italy’ and love visiting less well-known places near the major cities where you can enjoy a good hotel and superb restaurants for less than you would pay in the big cities, while taking advantage of excellent transport links to go and see the famous sights just for the day.

Among my favourites are Frascati near Rome, Treviso near Venice, Bergamo near Milan, Lucca near Florence and Forlì near Bologna.

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DEATH IN THE HIGH CITY

Set in the magical city of Bergamo in northern Italy, Death in the High City introduces detective duo Butler and Bartorelli.

Kate Butler, a freelance journalist, arrives in Bergamo to try to get some answers about the unexplained death of her cousin, Sophie, who has been living in the city while doing research for a biography of the Bergamo-born opera composer Gaetano Donizetti.

After her own life is threatened, Kate is joined by her partner, Steve Bartorelli, a recently retired Detective Chief Inspector of Italian descent, who helps her solve the crime.

Death in the High City, believed to be the first British crime novel in which Bergamo provides the backdrop, is available from Amazon as a Kindle e-book or a paperback.

THE SHOOTING IN SORRENTO

The Shooting in Sorrento, a crime novel set in the southern Italy resort, is now available from Amazon.

The second Butler and Bartorelli mystery by Val Culley, it is the sequel to Death in the High City, which was set in the beautiful city of Bergamo in Lombardy.

The book - written for readers who prefer the 'cosy crime' genre - features journalist Kate Butler and her partner, Steve Bartorelli, who is a retired Detective Chief Inspector.

They are in Sorrento for the wedding of the daughter of one of Steve’s Italian cousins.

When tragedy strikes an English family staying at their hotel, Kate feels she has to help.

She joins forces with another visitor to Sorrento to investigate after it becomes clear the Italian police aren’t looking for suspects beyond the English family.

The Shooting in Sorrento is available as a paperback or a Kindle ebook.

THE BODY PARTS IN THE LIBRARY

The first Library Ladies Mystery, featuring a new detective duo, Sallie Parker and Jo Pudsey, is now available for sale on Amazon.

Set in an English country village, The Body Parts in the Library is a new cosy crime novel written by Val Culley, the author of Death in the High City and The Shooting in Sorrento.

Sallie and Jo are both Library Assistants who have fallen victim to cost-cutting redundancies. A group of volunteers have taken over the running of the village library where they used to work and when one of them is the victim of a prank, the Library Ladies are immediately suspected and find themselves shunned by most of the village.

Determined to clear their names, they try to find out who was really responsible for the prank. But after more bizarre events, a grim discovery in the library leaves villagers in a state of shock, prompting the Library Ladies to conduct their own investigation to make sure the real culprit is exposed and life in the peaceful village of Upper Mickle can return to normal.

The Body Parts in the Library is available on Amazon Kindle or as a paperback.

Val Culley

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TRAVEL WRITING

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