Where to Begin: Your Recommended Reading Path
Adriana Licio has crafted two main avenues of escape for cozy mystery lovers. Your starting point depends entirely on what kind of adventure you are craving:
- For sun-drenched Italian charm and small-town amateur sleuthing: Begin with Murder on the Road, the first novel in the An Italian Village Mystery series. It introduces you to travel writer Giò Brando and the gorgeous coastal town of Maratea.
- For European travel and senior amateur sleuths: Start with the prequel Castelmezzano, The Witch Is Dead, followed immediately by The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies. This launches The Homeswappers Mysteries, featuring retired schoolteachers Dora and Etta as they swap homes and solve puzzles across the continent.
An Italian Village Mystery Series
Set against the backdrop of Maratea in Southern Italy, this series centers on Giò Brando, a travel writer who returns home to recover from a broken engagement, only to find herself constantly tripped up by murder investigations. The books are filled with delicious Italian pastries, village gossip, and family dynamics, including Giò's sister who runs a perfumery and their opinionated grandmother. Here is the recommended reading order:
- Book 0.5: And Then There Were Bones (Prequel Novella) – An homage to Agatha Christie's famous thriller, this prequel follows Giò to an island off Calabria for a murder mystery weekend that turns dangerously real. Licio often offers this as an exclusive download for her newsletter subscribers.
- Book 1: Murder on the Road (2019) – The official series debut. Giò must clear her own name after a body is discovered, relying on eavesdropping and local gossip in her sister's shop.
- Book 2: A Fair Time For Death (2019) – A disappearance during Maratea's local autumn chestnut festival leaves Giò chasing a missing corpse.
- Book 3: A Mystery Before Christmas (2019) – Cozy winter vibes dominate as theft, ancient carols, and festive village secrets collide.
- Book 3.5: When the Clock Chimes Two (2021) – A short story focusing on a woman accused of murder, where Giò has to step in to prove her innocence before a watertight alibi falls apart. Originally published in the multi-author anthology Mystery Follows Her.
- Book 4: Peril at the Pellicano Hotel (2020) – The peaceful atmosphere of a local resort is shattered by a mysterious death, prompting Giò to investigate the guests and staff.
- Book 5: The Haunted Watchtower (2021) – When Countess Eugenia moves into a centuries-old restored watchtower, local rumors of pirate ghosts take a deadly turn.
- Book 6: Murder's Silent Take (2024) – The latest installment returns readers to Maratea with fresh village intrigues and clever sleuthing.
The Homeswappers Mysteries
This series follows Dora and Etta, two sexagenarian retired schoolteachers from Southern Italy who decide to explore the world through home exchanges. Joining them is Napoleon, a stubbornly charming Basset Hound they call "Leon" for short. While published listings sometimes confuse the numbering—often counting the prequel as Book 4—the chronological flow is the most rewarding way to read their travels:
- Book 0.5: Castelmezzano, The Witch Is Dead (2020) – Chronologically the prequel, set in Italy, establishing the retired duo's sleuthing partnership.
- Book 1: The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies (2020) – The official start of their international homeswapping adventures in Germany, where they also first encounter their beloved Basset Hound.
- Book 2: A Wedding and a Funeral in Mecklenburg (2020) – A celebratory trip to a German wedding takes a dark turn, testing the teachers' observational skills.
- Book 3: An Aero Island Christmas Mystery (2020) – A festive holiday exchange on a quiet Danish island brings a cold-weather mystery.
- Book 4: Prague, a Secret from the Past (2021) – Exploring the historic capital of the Czech Republic leads the duo to uncover long-buried historical secrets.
- Book 5: Death on the West Highland Way (2022) – Etta and Dora swap homes to Scotland, taking on the famous walking trail and a rustic puzzle.
- Book 6: The Ghost of Glengullion Castle (2023) – A haunted Scottish estate provides a gothic backdrop for their next investigation.
- Book 7: Lake District Cottages and Corpses (2025) – A dual-timeline mystery in England connecting Etta and Dora with a WWII refugee memoir and a hidden passageway.
- Book 8: Cornwall's Deadly Series (2026) – The latest adventure finds the duo in Cornwall during a Daphne du Maurier-inspired festival where deaths mimic classic gothic fiction.
Short Stories and Anthologies
Licio has contributed to several multi-author anthologies, bringing her cozy style to broader collections:
- Mystery Follows Her (2020): A collection of cozy shorts featuring Licio's story When the Clock Chimes Two.
- Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic (2020): A charity anthology detailing personal reflections and short fiction from the early lockdowns.
- A Bookworm of a Suspect (2023): Part of the Cozy Mystery Tribe Anthology series, featuring Licio's bookish short story The Menace of.
- A Christmas Mystery in Venice and Other Winter Tales (2022): A dedicated holiday trio of short stories featuring Dora, Etta, and Leon as they travel through Italy, containing the stories A Tuscan Threat, A Christmas Mystery in Venice, and Devilish Deeds in the Alps.
Reader Advice: Standalones and Caveats
While each mystery in both series resolves its central puzzle by the final page, the personal lives, romantic interests, and friendships of the recurring characters evolve. For the best experience, read both series in their chronological order rather than jumping around. Keep an eye out for prequel novellas like And Then There Were Bones, which add delightful flavor but can be skipped if you want to jump straight to the main novels.