An Enigma by the Sea

Name: An Enigma by the Sea
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ISBN: 9781916725195

Carlo Fruttero

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Paperback

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English

Bitter Lemon Press
01 May 2026

Fiction & Literature; Crime & Mystery; Thriller & suspense

On the wintry Tuscan coast, the wealthy elite retreat to their lavish holiday homes. But the season turns sinister when a couple vanishes from their heavily guarded villa, and the body of Count Delaude, a dubious aristocrat, washes up on the shore, battered to death.

The ensemble cast brims with intrigue: The count, a sponger and a sham had arrived under cover of dark with a beautiful young woman scheming to be a top model. Two comedians seclude themselves as they try to overcome a writing block. One depressive, Signor Monforti, a retired academic, tries to woo a beautiful divorcee, while another, a woman this time, prepares to leave her husband. Two elderly spinsters and their Filipina maid are aghast at the awful predictions of their Tarot pack. With the local police floundering, it falls to Monforti to unravel the mystery, triumphing as an amateur detective.

'Doyens of the Italian detective story, Fruttero and Lucentini, offer a perfect blend of the comedy of manners and the macabre; in short, very Mediterranean mysteries.' Tim Parks, author ofHotel MilanoandItalian Life

'A sophisticated thriller

consistently funny. These are superbly deadpan observers of humanity.' Literary Review

By: Carlo Fruttero
Imprint: Bitter Lemon Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781916725195
ISBN 10: 1916725198
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 01 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Carlo Fruttero (1926-2012) and Franco Lucentini (1920-2002) are legendary authors in Europe, known as pioneers of the modern crime genre. Gregory Dowling lives in Venice. He is a celebrated translator from Italian, a novelist and a local university professor.

Reviews for An Enigma by the Sea

“Doyens of the Italian detective story, Fruttero and Lucentini, offer a perfect blend of the comedy of manners and the macabre; in short, very Mediterranean mysteries.” Tim Parks, author of Hotel Milano and Italian Life ""Elegant writing in a crime novel is rare and flushed with foreign yet intelligible influence, it deserves to be appreciated."" TLS ""A seamless sophisticated thriller and the translation reads compulsively. This novel compels intimacy and immediacy. It's also consistently funny. Superbly deadpan observers of humanity and excellent mimics, Fruttero & Lucentini would probably be quite fun to be stuck in a lift with."" Literary Review