Italy holidays

Patricia Highsmith

Travelscoop's Stuart's favourite novel about the ultimate likeable anti-hero. Tom Ripley is talented and scheming with a burning ambition for success that he's prepared to kill for. A gripping psychological thriller which forces the reader to question why they're willing him to get away with it. Italy forms the wonderful backdrop - and it'll make you want to go!

Patricia Highsmith

A well-written, tense novel in which the dead bride's father-in-law is convinced the grieving husband killed her and becomes obsessed with vengeance. Set in Rome and the streets and canals of Venice, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse builds as each becomes the hunter and the hunted.

Philip Gwynne Jones

With redundancy and an uncertain future in Edinburgh looming, Jones and his wife took a huge leap and moved to Venice to live. Through often-hilarious exploits and an enormous passion for the beautiful city and all things Italian, this is a really enjoyable read.

Elizabeth Von Arnim

Tired of the drudgery of life in cold, grey London, four women - previously unknown to each other - answer a newspaper advert to stay for a month in an idyllic Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean - based on Cinque Terre. Escaping their daily lives, each transforms in the beauty and warmth of their paradise-like surroundings.

Cornelia Funke

Brilliant story for 9-12 year olds about two brothers who escape their aunt by running away to Venice where they join a gang of street kids. With a detective searching for them, they're forced into hiding all over the city - encountering even greater threats and plenty of magic along the way.