Val Culley: Locked room mysteries

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.

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