The first installment in the Bar Lume Series. At the Bar Lume, in a small coastal resort near Livorno, between shots of espresso and hands of cards, four old-timers and Massimo the Barman, wile away the time chatting, arguing, and theorizing about the murder of a young woman in their town. The girl’s body was found in a dumpster bin on the edge of town. The victim’s now notoriously licentious lifestyle has everyone thinking that her death had something to do with the world of drug trafficking and dangerous sex that she inhabited. The prime suspects in the case are two of the girl’s nightlife associates. But out of love of gossip, the group of old friends at the Bar Lume begin to pull the case to pieces, forcing Massimo into the role of amateur sleuth. The four old-timers analyze the crime and the suspects, contextualizing both, and in the process put a comic spin on their often narrow-minded neighbors. From this “investigation,” in Malvaldi’s lively and colorful prose, emerges a fascinating picture of life in a small town that, for all its faults, stubbornly resists the devastation of mindless global tourism.

Marco Malvaldi
Marco Malvaldi was born in Pisa in 1974. Game for Five is the first in the Bar Lume series, featuring Massimo the Barman and the four elderly sleuths. He is the winner of both the Isola d’Elba Award and the Castiglioncello Prize for his crime novels.

• Feb 1 2016
  Who was it who invented coffee? He must be a cousin of the genius who invented the bed. Nobel Prizes for both of them. For them, and for the person who invented Nutella.
  — Pechorin’s Journal
• Apr 11 2014
  The Wall Street Journal: "...short, swift, pleasing."
  
• Apr 10 2014
  Mary Whipple Reviews: "Short, snappy, filled with humor, and great fun, this is a light entertainment, perfect for a change of pace or for summer reading.
  
• Mar 31 2014
  Publishers Weekly: "In this enjoyable series debut, Malvaldi beckons readers into Bar Lume, the terrain of barman Massimo Viviani..."