Book six in the Rick Montoya series of mysteries. Rick, gastronome and amateur sleuth, is heading to Rome not only to start up a translation business but to delve deeper into his Italian roots. Enjoyable, entertaining mystery, characters are credible, the backdrop a pleasure and the food.....delicious. An engaging read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Roman Count Down by David Wagner. This is the first Rick Montoya book that I’ve read and it wasn’t a disappointment. As Rick returns to the city of his youth, in order to establish his translation business, he encounters a wide variety of characters and becomes reacquainted with his uncle, a police commissioner in Rome. The mystery itself is interesting and fairly simple, and Rick is a charming and likeable amateur investigator, but the real star of the story is Rome itself. The author takes the reader into the heart of the city. I loved the descriptions of food, wine, architecture, history and art. What a wonderful escape to one of the world’s most fascinating places!

I am looking forward to reading more books in the Rick Montoya mystery series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I liked this book, it was a fun and engaging book that kept me hooked till the last page.
I liked the descriptions of Rome, they're realistic and pleasant, it was almost like being in the city.
It was to read how Rick came to live in Rome and started his activity.
The mystery was light and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Roman Count Down is the sixth in David P. Wagner’s Rick Montoya series. The story opens with Count Umberto Zimbardi taking a bus home for the first time in his life only to get murdered. His murder will occupy the attention of the main character Rick Montoya even though he probably should be focusing on launching his translation service rather than solving murders.

Rick’s story begins in Alberquerque as he says goodbye to his friends before flying to Rome and his new life there as a translator. His maternal uncle hosts him and helps him get settled while also involving him in the Zimbardi murder case, asking him to translate the Count’s journals which were writen in English. He discovers the Count was researching the history of the streets of Rome and found some skullduggery going on at the last street he was researching before his murder. Rick, his uncle, and Carmella who works for his uncle begin their investigations there.



Roman Count Down feels more like the first in a series rather than the sixth. Not surprisingly, it turns out to be a prequel. That may explain why so much of the story was focused on establishing Rick’s relationships and connections. That element of the story overwhelmed the mystery element. The detecting elements of the story were fair, we were provided the information that inspired Rick’s intuitive leaps.

Wagner excelled at creating a sensory image of Rome, not just visually, but also in terms of sounds, scents, flavors, and even the sensation of walking on ancient cobblestones. The sense of place is flawless. The mystery itself was thin and seemed more a vehicle for establishing Rick’s personal story rather than the central focus of the book. The characters seemed a bit flat, too much to type. In that vein, Rick’s friend Juan is an awful stereotype. Rick is irritated by his accent, how he pronounces his name Reek rather than Rick, which seems odd from someone whose name is pronounced with a long e in Spanish and Italian. He’s a walking stereotype and a disservice to the book. That Rick does favors for him is not kindness, it’s condescension.

It’s possible that the other books in the series will be better. They are not carrying the burden of starting a new business, finding a new place to live, and settling in. There’s a reason tv pilots are often tedious, the relentless introduction and explication. It just seems odd this happens in the sixth book.

Roman Count Down will be released May 21st. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

After five books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mystery series, David Wagner takes the reader back to Rick’s arrival in Rome to establish his business as an interpreter. Having spent many of his school years in Rome, this move gives him an opportunity to re-connect with several of his classmates, some of whom have taken an unexpected path in life.

Rick’s first job comes through his Uncle Piero, a police commissioner. The body of Count Zimbardi was found on a bridge near his home. With little to go on, the Countess has offered his journals, which may offer information on a project he was working on. The Count had studied in England and kept his journals in English so Rick is hired to read through them and report back to his uncle.

Working with Sergeant Carmella Lamponi, Rick takes them to Via Anacleto, where the count had conducted interviews with the residents for a proposed book on the changes over time that have occurred on the older streets of Rome. While there is little in the journals to help, several of the count’s friends noted that he was disturbed by something he had discovered while conducting his interviews. It is up to Rick and Carmella to discover whether this is tied to his murder. During interviews with the count’s friends they also discover that he enjoyed gambling and he had also been involved in an argument with one of his friends shortly before his death.

As Rick assists his uncle, updates often take place over lunch or dinner with mouth-watering descriptions of the Italian dishes that they indulge in. He also enjoys walking the streets of Rome as he re-acquaints himself with the city. From the Piazza Navona to the Vatican he gives the reader a tour that allows you to experience Rome from your own home. This book serves as the perfect introduction to Rick Montoya with some gentle humor and several good twists. It is an entertaining and an easy book to enjoy with a glass of Italian wine by your side.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Remember first and most importantly that the Italian criminal justice system operates vastly differently from that in the US, UK, and Canada (and other countries as well). Still, you might find it odd that an Italian police officer would involve his nephew in the investigation of the murder of anyone, much less of Count ZImbardi, a very wealthy man. Rick Montoya is a fun amateur detective in the sense that he knows his limitations and, frankly, enjoys Rome (or wherever he is- this is a series) as much as he enjoys investigating. The mystery isn't too complicated but the atmosphere is great. Thanks to Netgalley for the ArC. A light read for fans of Italy.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because I was going to Rome on vacation and I thought it would be a fun book to read on the trains and buses. I thought it delivered on the local flare and scenery but the mystery was almost non existent. It was a lot of Rick, the main character, meeting up with his old high school friends and finding out what became of them which was not of much interest to me but I haven’t read the rest of the series so maybe that was my issue.

The story is a simple one. One of the upper class Counts has been found supposedly murdered just outside his residence. The police do not find any enemies or suspects as such. They are under pressure from the Countess as well to find out how and why her husband is murdered. That she was a strange bird is another part of the story. Enter Rick who has decided to come to Rome and live there, uprooting himself from his American lifestyle to adapt to his Italian roots. His uncle is the Detective on the case and he ropes Rick in to help.

I was nonplussed how a civilian could be officially roped into an investigation but that is beside the point. The story reads more like a travelogue on Rome with special emphasis on food. Food in restaurants, food in cafes, food in hole in the wall grocers (delicious, fabulous) and traveling in and out through Rome brought the city to life in this book.

I like travel in every form so this was a lovely choice for me. I enjoyed the forays that Rick made into the by ways of Rome and how he extricated himself from them as well. You got a view of Rome from the expat as well as from the local.

Very nice reading (the murder was solved at the end) so two birds with one stone!

A fast fun read that will take you for a long walk around modern Rome with Italian American amateur sleuth Rick Montoya. Look forward to building up an appetite as Montoya eats his way around the eternal city, asking questions for his police uncle about an unsolved murder. Although I suspect that isn’t really how the Italian police roll, it made for an entertaining story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Roman Count Down is a decent book with interesting characters and it is well written. I love the descriptions and plot.

This was a fun book to read, especially if you love Italian food, wine and culture or if you want to experience Rome, without the murder, of course, vicariously. The characters are interesting and it was good to see how the series came to be, i.e. how Rick started his business in Italy.