The Magus of Sicily
On sale
2nd April 2026
Price: £10.99
‘Truly evocative’ Financial Times
‘If this book is not popular with fans of The White Lotus, something is definitely awry . . . [a] sumptuously set mystery’ Daily Mirror
————
An island of myth, legend . . . and murder?
As the summer sun beats down on the ancient town of Acitrezza, a folk festival plays out in the picturesque harbour. Music, laughter and the aroma of local delicacies fill the air, and a traditional pantomime draws a crowd.
For rookie journalist Nedda Leonardi, it’s just another day’s reporting in a calendar of unremarkable events. Until that is, the performers dive in the sparkling Ionian Sea for their finale… and emerge with a corpse. Could this be Nedda’s big break?
After one trick too many, Calogero Maugeri, self-styled Magus and con artist, is a wanted man. But his attempts to clean up his act and keep a low profile are thwarted when it’s revealed he has a suspicious connection to the dead man pulled from the sea.
A young reporter keen for a scoop and a reformed swindler desperate to clear his name… can this improbable pair solve the most unusual of murders?
‘If this book is not popular with fans of The White Lotus, something is definitely awry . . . [a] sumptuously set mystery’ Daily Mirror
————
An island of myth, legend . . . and murder?
As the summer sun beats down on the ancient town of Acitrezza, a folk festival plays out in the picturesque harbour. Music, laughter and the aroma of local delicacies fill the air, and a traditional pantomime draws a crowd.
For rookie journalist Nedda Leonardi, it’s just another day’s reporting in a calendar of unremarkable events. Until that is, the performers dive in the sparkling Ionian Sea for their finale… and emerge with a corpse. Could this be Nedda’s big break?
After one trick too many, Calogero Maugeri, self-styled Magus and con artist, is a wanted man. But his attempts to clean up his act and keep a low profile are thwarted when it’s revealed he has a suspicious connection to the dead man pulled from the sea.
A young reporter keen for a scoop and a reformed swindler desperate to clear his name… can this improbable pair solve the most unusual of murders?
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Reviews
A delight
The Magus of Sicily invokes Italy's most exquisite island as a setting for myth and murder . . . truly evocative
Praise for Philip Gwynne Jones's other novels:
An irresistible concoction of crime and culture
I devoured all Philip's novels and felt transported to Venice with a new intimacy
Sinister and shimmering
As delightful as a Spritz by the Rialto - a must for all Italy lovers
'Philip Gwynne Jones is on a winning streak with his Italian mysteries ... there is no let-up in the tension that keeps us rooted to the page'
A murder mystery drenched in Sicily . . . If this book is not popular with fans of The White Lotus, something is definitely awry . . . [a] sumptuously set mystery
Superb - always gripping, beautifully constructed and vivid
Clever and great fun
If you enjoy Italy, either in reality or imagination, you couldn't help but enjoy Jones's books