Holy Smoke

by Tonino Benacquista

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"Boisterous black comedy . . . funny and goodhearted, with much incident and expert enthusiasm for sex, food and drink."--The Literary Review "Much to enjoy in the clash of cultures and superstitions, even a tasty recipe for poisoning your friends with pasta. Detail like this places European crime writing on a par with its American counterpart."--Belfast Independent Some favors simply cannot be refused. Tonio agrees to write a love letter for Dario, a low-rent Paris gigolo. When Dario is show more murdered, a single bullet to the head, Tonio finds he has been left a small vineyard near Naples. The wine is undrinkable, but an elaborate scam has been set up. The smell of easy money attracts the unwanted attentions of the Mafia and the Vatican and the unbridled hatred of the locals. Mafiosi aren't choir boys, and monsignors can be very much like Mafiosi. Winner of three mystery prizes in one year, including the Grand Prix de la Littérature Policière and the Prix Mystère de la Critique. Tonino Benacquista, born in France of Italian immigrants, dropped out of film studies to finance his writing career. After being in turn a museum watchman, a train guard on the Paris-Rome line and a professional parasite on the Paris cocktail circuit, he is now a highly successful author of fiction and film scripts. show less

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40+ Works 2,136 Members

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Hunter, Adriana (Translator)

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Common Knowledge

Original title
La Commedia des ratés
Original publication date
1991

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Mystery, General Fiction
DDC/MDS
843.914Literature & rhetoricFrench LiteratureFrench fiction1900-20th Century1945-1999
LCC
PQ2662 .E4723 .C6513Language and LiteratureFrench, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literaturesFrench literatureModern literature1961-2000
BISAC

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148
Popularity
221,097
Reviews
1
Rating
½ (3.35)
Languages
English, French, Italian, Spanish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
8
ASINs
3