Posted in Culture, Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel, Travel to Italy, Umbria, tagged 31 Days of Orvieto, Day 16 of 31 Days of Orvieto, Italy, Italy travel, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Picture Day on August 16, 2015| 4 Comments »
#31daysofOrvieto #orvietoorbust #iloveorvieto #Italytravel #Italy#Orvieto
Posted in Artists in Italy, Culture, Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italians, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel, Travel to Italy, Umbria, tagged Academy of Fine Arts, Birdland NYC, Bottega Chiocca Tsardova, Massimo Chioccia, Olga Tsarkova, Orvieto on August 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »
#31daysofOrvieto #orvietoorbust #iloveorvieto #orvieto#italytravel #italy #bottegachiocciatsarkova
http://www.chioccia-tsarkova.it/index.html.
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italians, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel, Travel to Italy, Umbria, tagged 31 Days of Orvieto, Day #14 of 31 Days of Orvieto, I Love IT School, immersion method, Italian language learning, Orvieto, orvieto italy on August 14, 2015| 6 Comments »
Posted in Culture, Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Rome, Travel, Travel to Italy, tagged 31 Days of Orvieto, Day #12 of 31 Days of Orvieto, Day trips from Orvieto, Day trips from Rome, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Rome on August 12, 2015| 3 Comments »
Posted in Culture, Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel, Travel to Italy, Umbria, tagged 31 Days of Orvieto, amiche, Day #11 of 31 Days of Orvieto, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Valentina Santanicchio on August 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Americans Abroad, Book Review, Culture, Expat in Italy, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Europe, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Rome, Travel, Travel to Italy, writing, tagged Alex Nicholas, crimefiction, Death Logs In Book Review, E.J. Simon, Italy, Italy Book Tours, JimEJSimon, Michael Nicholas, Nouveauwriter, Rome, Stephen Hawking, suspense, thriller, underworld Boss on January 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Death Logs In is the second book in E. J. Simon’s techno-thriller crime series. The first, Death Never Sleeps was published in 2013 and rose to #2 on Amazon Kindle, as well as appeared on numerous bestseller lists in the U.S. and abroad. Initially self-published, Simon/Zef began publishing Death Never Sleeps after it moved over 80,000 copies in its first year.
Unfortunately, I was unable to read the first book in the series because both copies mailed to me never reached my home in Orvieto. Ahhh, the Italian postal service…talk about a shady organized crime syndicate!
“Some of the most powerful people in the world want to kill Michael Nicholas. Only his brother, Alex can save him – the problem is that Alex is dead. It’s been almost a year since Alex Nicholas, a Queens based underworld Boss, was gunned down. After Alex’s brutal murder, Michael inherited not only his brother’s business – but his enemies. Michael is now a key player in a world he once feared. By day, he is the head of a Fortune 500 company by night, the CEO of Tartarus, one of the worlds largest illegal gambling operations.”
Review of Death Logs In….
Thrillers and crime novels aren’t really my thing, but I wanted to keep an open mind as I began reading E. J. Simon’s newest novel, Death Logs In.
Death Logs In has all the makings of a great crime/mob thriller. There’s protagonist, Michael “just when I though I was out, they pulled me back in” Nicholas – a reluctant gangster who was left to run his brother’s gambling empire after his death. Sindy Steele is a femme fatale bodyguard with more secrets than the Vatican has gold leaf, and Michael’s wife Samantha, who likes to shop but doesn’t much care for Michael and Sindy’s business association. The cast of characters are rounded-out by two meathead bookies from Queens, a whiney but deadly assassin stuck in exile at one of Rome’s finest hotels, and a gaggle of high-powered Catholic priests whose dealings have nothing to do with “God’s work”. It’s The Godfather-meets-Goodfellas-meets-The DaVinci Code.
I had some trouble, initially, getting past the artificial intelligence premise on which the story is based. To be fair to the author, I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic – especially when it comes to future shock/conspiracy theories. If a Stephen Hawking had come to me personally to explain “AI” principle, I might be more receptive to the idea…but then again, maybe not.
The improbable plot aside, I also struggled with the schizophrenic quality of the storyline. Locations changed and jumped around a lot and some chapters were way too short, making the plot extremely difficult to follow. The sanitized dialog stuck out like a sore thumb – not one single F-bomb in a book full of mobsters? A novel about a criminal underworld should have a little edge.
Finally, the world-class destinations such as New York, London, Rome and Paris were underused. Scenes were invariably set inside restaurants, bars or hotel rooms instead of taking the reader on a clandestine gondola ride on the Grand Canal, a car chase through the streets of Rome, or a cliff-hanging murder scene atop the Eiffel Tower. It might have been contrived and cliché, but at least it would have been fun.
Regrettably, Death Logs In is a book I’m less than enthusiastic about. In my opinion, the author didn’t take the story of racketeering and church corruption quite far enough. But as I said earlier, crime thrillers aren’t really my thing…they could however, really be yours.
Meet the Author:
E.J. Simon was the CEO of GMAC Global Relocation Services (a division of GM) and the Managing Director of Douglas Elliman, the largest real estate company in NY.
He is a consultant to many leading private equity firms and has held senior level positions at prominent financial services companies.
He is a world traveler, food enthusiast and lives in Connecticut.Death Never Sleeps is his first novel. His second novel, Death Logs In, will be available in October 2014.
Connect with him: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
CHECK OUT THE BOOK TRAILER:
Where to buy the book:
Death Never Sleeps – Amazon.it / Amazon.fr
Death Logs In – Amazon.it / Amazon.fr
TO READ OTHER REVIEWS OF Death Logs In click on the links below.
Tour Schedule:
Dec 12 – Monica Cesarato – review Death Logs In
Dec 17 – The Good Life France – review of Death Logs In / author interview
Dec 17 – Curiosity and a Carry On – review of Death Logs In
Dec 22 – Why Roam? – Book Spotlight / guest post
Dec 29 – The Good Life France – giveaway
Jan 5 – Young in Rome – review Death Never Sleeps
Jan 7 – Orvieto or Bust – review Death Logs In
Jan – Young in Rome – review Death Logs In
Jan – The Venice Experience – review Death Never Sleeps
Jan – The Venice Experience – review Death Logs In
Jan – Erica Firpo – review Death Never Sleeps
Jan – Erica Firpo – review Death Logs In
Italy Book Tours gets books in the hands of readers who love everything Italian. They offer professional virtual book tours to authors and publishers whose books are set in Italy, have an Italian theme, are written by an Italian author or translated from Italian. For more information you can contact Laura Fabiani at http://www.italybooktours.com.
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel, Umbria, tagged drunk teenagers, Jim Morrison, Pappardelle con ragu, Vicolo Wars, Vicolo Wars: The Sequel on December 1, 2014| 12 Comments »
*This quote was attributed to the late Jim Morrison, however I was unable to find confirmation that he had ever said it. It appears to be an urban myth circulating around the Italian Internet.
Vicolo Wars Update:
December 2, 2014 – Last night a young friend of mine saw the Facebook Post and photo below. Translation: “One person in Orvieto assessed the situation with a little sense of humor.”
It’s nice to know this young man appreciated the sarcasm. Bravo Nicola!
Posted in Americans Abroad, Expat in Italy, Italians, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Italy, Orvieto Italy, Travel, tagged alfabeto fonetico, Google Translate, italian hand gestures, learning Italian, Speaking Italian, talking with your hands, tips for speaking italian on July 24, 2014| 20 Comments »
The Iceberg Project is based on the theory that most of what you learn about culture when visiting a new country without speaking the language is just the tip of the iceberg. To learn more about The Iceberg Project go to click here
by Toni DeBella
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italians, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Rome, writing, tagged Amazon, Duomo di Orvieto, Eat Pray Love, Ebook, Estelle Jobson, Finding Rome on the Map of Love, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Rome, The Beehive Hotel, Three Coins in a Fountain, Toni DeBella, Under the Tuscan Sun on January 2, 2013| 17 Comments »
Shortly after arriving in Italy, I accepted an invitation to a book signing and reading event in Rome. When I learned of the book’s subject matter (a thirty-something woman who finds love with an Italian and moves to Rome) I thought, Oh no, not another fairy tale about coming to Italy, having an affair with Marcello Mastroianni and living happily ever after! Needless to say I was skeptical. Seriously, is there anyone out there who could bring freshness to this tired and overly saturated genre of storybook fantasies alla Three Coins in a Fountain, Under the Tuscan Sun and Eat, Pray, Love? I know I sound jaded, but my expectations are low.
After a brief introduction author Estelle Jobson sat down on a cushion in the courtyard of The Beehive Hotel, opened her book, Finding Rome on the Map of Love, and began to read. As I listened to her recount the stories, I noticed the corners of my mouth began to spontaneously turn upward. Her elegant and proper South African accent was in sharp contrast to the wry, sardonic and sassy repartee. Hey, this girl gets it! When she finished I was a bit sad, but fortunately I’d purchased my very own autographed copy of the book and immediately cracked it open on the train back to Orvieto.
Estelle Jobson is a talented writer who has a true gift for observation. She describes things that, as an expatriate, I’d experienced but was never able to fully articulate. What appreciate most about Estelle’s storytelling is the way she doesn’t laugh at Italians, she laughs with them. Her book is filled with intelligent humor, compassion, and edgy insight. She’s sarcastic without being mean; clever without being pretentious; and emotional without being overly sentimental. Estelle sees Italians the way they really are and reconfirms, at least for me, why I love living among them.
Enjoying my copy…
…in front of the…
…Duomo di Orvieto.
Posted in Expat in Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Rome, Travel, tagged Christmas lights in Rome, holidays, Rome, Rome Italy, The end of the world on December 24, 2012| 11 Comments »
Maybe it was the wine, or it might have been those sparkling blue and white jellyfish that floated above my head, or the draping of light bulbs that covered an entire boulevard from end-to-end, or the gigantic trees in every piazza… 
Toni DeBella
Create Your Badge<!-- Facebook Badge END
Add blog to our blog directory.
Orvieto or Bust: 