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Dan Brown mixes history and mystery in this adventure through Rome. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon arrives to find a secret society has resurfaced with plans involving an ancient weapon.
The story uses famous spots like the Pantheon and Piazza Navona as settings for Langdon’s quest. He must follow a trail of symbols through the city to stop a catastrophe. You really feel the urgency as Langdon connects clues hidden in plain sight.
Ngaio Marsh sets this mystery right in the Eternal City. Detective Roderick Alleyn joins a guided tour group visiting a Roman basilica, but he is actually undercover. The tourists are a strange bunch, and soon enough, one of them is found dead under peculiar circumstances.
Alleyn must sift through secrets connected to Rome’s past and the travelers’ own lives, all within the city’s unique atmosphere.
This sharp short story by Edith Wharton introduces Alida Slade and Grace Ansley, two middle-aged women meeting again on a terrace that overlooks Rome. They talk about their pasts, and their polite conversation slowly uncovers old rivalries and secrets they have kept for years.
Rome, with its ancient ruins visible nearby, provides a dramatic background as their history unfolds.
E. C. R. Lorac delivers a classic mystery from the heart of Rome. A body is discovered near an old monument, which starts an investigation led by a clever detective.
The search reveals secrets hidden within the city streets and among its residents, and the case becomes more complex. The book sets Rome’s beauty against a dark crime, and the mystery unfolds piece by piece.
Anne Rice tells the long story of the vampire Marius, whose existence spans centuries, beginning in ancient Rome. Marius is both an artist and a keeper of powerful secrets.
The narrative explores his time as a Roman patrician, the moment he became a vampire, and his duty to protect Those Who Must Be Kept – the original vampires. Rome’s early days provide a rich stage for his life, full of political schemes and cultural beauty.
Juan Gómez-Jurado’s thriller unfolds quickly in Rome after a Vatican priest dies violently. Detectives arrive to investigate the crime. Through their work, they expose hidden activities within the Vatican walls.
Readers follow the investigators through tense pursuits across the historic city.
Patricia Highsmith introduces Tom Ripley, a young man sent to Italy with a mission: persuade the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf to return home. Tom grows obsessed with Dickie’s easy, luxurious life and starts scheming to become part of it.
His initial plan twists into deceit and murder. Rome and other Italian locations offer a beautiful, sun-drenched setting for Tom’s increasingly dark path.
F. Marion Crawford wrote this historical novel about life in 19th-century Rome. It centers on Giovanni Saracinesca and his father, Prince Saracinesca. They deal with power games, family issues, and romance within Roman high society.
The story includes dramatic duels and betrayals. You get a real sense of the era from the clash between old traditions and new ways.
Carlo Emilio Gadda sets this complex story in 1920s Rome. An apartment building on Via Merulana is the scene of two crimes: a robbery and a terrible murder. Detective Ingravallo investigates.
He digs into the tangled lives of the building’s residents and uncovers jealousy, hidden facts, and lies. The novel shows Rome’s streets and social world with gritty detail.
Kim Newman places this story in 1959 Rome. Count Dracula plans to marry a mysterious countess. Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard look into a dark plot surrounding the wedding. The book blends spy games, horror elements, and old Hollywood style.
Rome is full of movie stars, secret agents, and vampires, which creates a unique mix of allure and menace.
John H. Secondari writes about three American women who live in Rome. They experience love, work challenges, and friendship in the unpredictable city. Their stories unfold against famous Roman backdrops, including the Trevi Fountain.
Readers see both the charm and the difficulties of their lives abroad.
Anthony Burgess tells the tale of Ronald Beard, a widowed writer who comes to Rome while mourning his wife. He meets his former lover there and gets drawn into unexpected situations. The story explores love, art, and loss.
Rome’s history and culture form the setting for Beard’s personal journey.
Henry James focuses on Daisy, a young American woman visiting Europe. In Rome, she struggles with the strict rules of the upper-class expatriate society. Her independent spirit causes friction, particularly when she becomes friends with an Italian man named Giovanelli.
The story looks at cultural misunderstandings and social disapproval that arise from Daisy’s choices.
Alberto Moravia follows Cesira, a shopkeeper, and her young daughter Rosetta. They leave Rome during World War II to avoid the bombings and travel to Cesira’s rural village for safety. However, the war impacts them even there.
The novel describes their fight for survival through hunger, difficulty, and the violence of the conflict. It shows their endurance and the terrible cost of war.
Giancarlo De Cataldo chronicles the rise of a criminal gang in Rome during the 1970s and 80s. The book details their fights for territory, run-ins with the police, and internal betrayals. It also captures the volatile political scene of Italy at that time.
Each character has unique ambitions and weaknesses that shape their fate.
Wolfgang Koeppen brings together a German family in post-war Rome. Each family member carries a different burden from Germany’s recent past. One is Gottlieb Judejahn, an unrepentant former SS officer.
Another relative, Siegfried Pfaffrath, tries to escape his country’s history through music. Rome itself, with its layers of history and decay, seems to reflect the family’s inner conflicts. Their interactions reveal deep wounds and the persistent shadows of the war.
Amara Lakhous sets this novel in an apartment building in modern Rome where a man is discovered dead inside the elevator. The residents, many of whom are immigrants or feel like outsiders, give their perspectives on the event.
Their accounts expose cultural differences, prejudices, and personal secrets. The story offers a look at outsider experiences in a major city and how viewpoints can collide.