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A Nick Williams Mystery #20
The Constant Caprese
Tuesday, September 10, 1957
Nick and Carter have left Nice and, after sailing down the Italian coast, have dropped anchor at the island of Procida, just across the bay from the Naples coast.
Nick, as he is wont to do, meets the one homosexual who works at the local post office and, in short order, is invited to dinner along with Carter to meet the entire family. Italians, after all, are so friendly!
Meanwhile, Lord Gerald, their friend in British intelligence, has sent a cryptic telegram asking them to take a package over to Capri, an island on the far side of the Bay of Naples.
When they dock at Capri the next morning, they find a dying duke, an eccentric earl, and a vigilant viscount all living together in a glorious villa dating back to the turn of the century. These are the final remnants of the once-thriving community of homosexual Englishmen who made the Italian island their sanctuary where they could live in peace as themselves.
But is someone haunting this idyllic Mediterranean paradise? Who cut the phone line for no apparent reason? Who opened the locked door and then unlocked it again? Who is playing pranks with the plumbing? Maybe these are all just coincidences... Or maybe there is something more sinister afoot...
Come sail away with Nick and Carter to the Island of Capri and find out!
Nick and Carter have left Nice and, after sailing down the Italian coast, have dropped anchor at the island of Procida, just across the bay from the Naples coast.
Nick, as he is wont to do, meets the one homosexual who works at the local post office and, in short order, is invited to dinner along with Carter to meet the entire family. Italians, after all, are so friendly!
Meanwhile, Lord Gerald, their friend in British intelligence, has sent a cryptic telegram asking them to take a package over to Capri, an island on the far side of the Bay of Naples.
When they dock at Capri the next morning, they find a dying duke, an eccentric earl, and a vigilant viscount all living together in a glorious villa dating back to the turn of the century. These are the final remnants of the once-thriving community of homosexual Englishmen who made the Italian island their sanctuary where they could live in peace as themselves.
But is someone haunting this idyllic Mediterranean paradise? Who cut the phone line for no apparent reason? Who opened the locked door and then unlocked it again? Who is playing pranks with the plumbing? Maybe these are all just coincidences... Or maybe there is something more sinister afoot...
Come sail away with Nick and Carter to the Island of Capri and find out!
- GenresM M Romance
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 9, 2018
21 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 29, 2018
Always a surprise, always a deligt - an adventure in Capri. Where are they off to next?
May 10, 2018
The Constant Caprese (Nick William #20)
By Frank W. Butterfield
By the author, 2018
Four stars
In 1955, Noel Coward released a song called “In a Bar on the Piccola Marina,” about a proper British widow who decides to take a holiday on the island of Capri. That song, comic and genteelly naughty as only Noel Coward could make it, was constantly in my head as I read this installment of the adventure of Nick and Carter.
Having fled their gilded prison in Nice (Nizza in Italian), the boys, guided by their trusty captain O’Reilly on a new, smaller sailing yacht, explore the coastal towns of southern Italy—Procida, Naples, and finally Capri. They are ostensibly killing time until they can figure out a “way home,” meaning San Francisco, with the idea of returning to Australia to fulfill a promise they made many books ago to a now-deceased friend. But fate seems to have them in its sights again.
One consistent motif that has threaded through this extensive series is the ghost of Nick’s great-uncle Paul Williams, the vastly rich and notoriously queer figure who left Nick his fortune. He shows up in Nick’s dreams, offering advice, but also raising questions. Uncle Paul is important in this volume, because Nick and his beloved Carter are, literally and figuratively, at sea.
Capri, celebrated a century ago as a sort of “Fantasy Island” for rich homosexual Brit exiles, male and female, becomes a kind of touch point in Nick and Carter’s journey. Here they encounter a whole gaggle of men of varying ages, ethnicities and classes, who embody the social and emotional conflicts that Nick and Carter have experienced in their life together, and distill it into a clear, sharp truth: Nick and Carter are special, and they have a place in the world, a destiny, that matters. Never has Frank Butterfield gotten quite so existential as he does on this romantic, rocky, sun-baked island.
Of course there are several mysterious deaths, one of which is even tragic. There are plenty of eccentric and amusing characters, lush descriptions of the island and its people; and we also finally get the full story about Nick and Carter’s elusive friend, Gerald Whitcombe. And therein lies quite a startling tale, offering our boys a new insight into what their notoriety means in the larger picture of history.
Sounds portentous doesn’t it?
Once again, as with the last book, “The Leaping Lord,” this book feels poised on the precipice of something new—which, at #20, is pretty astounding. This series is not winding down. Frank Butterfield’s vivid imagination and love of history (and obsession with describing everybody’s height, weight, age and coloring—something I appreciate) is not petering out.
We’ve come a long way from the little house in San Francisco. Where will Frank take us next?
By Frank W. Butterfield
By the author, 2018
Four stars
In 1955, Noel Coward released a song called “In a Bar on the Piccola Marina,” about a proper British widow who decides to take a holiday on the island of Capri. That song, comic and genteelly naughty as only Noel Coward could make it, was constantly in my head as I read this installment of the adventure of Nick and Carter.
Having fled their gilded prison in Nice (Nizza in Italian), the boys, guided by their trusty captain O’Reilly on a new, smaller sailing yacht, explore the coastal towns of southern Italy—Procida, Naples, and finally Capri. They are ostensibly killing time until they can figure out a “way home,” meaning San Francisco, with the idea of returning to Australia to fulfill a promise they made many books ago to a now-deceased friend. But fate seems to have them in its sights again.
One consistent motif that has threaded through this extensive series is the ghost of Nick’s great-uncle Paul Williams, the vastly rich and notoriously queer figure who left Nick his fortune. He shows up in Nick’s dreams, offering advice, but also raising questions. Uncle Paul is important in this volume, because Nick and his beloved Carter are, literally and figuratively, at sea.
Capri, celebrated a century ago as a sort of “Fantasy Island” for rich homosexual Brit exiles, male and female, becomes a kind of touch point in Nick and Carter’s journey. Here they encounter a whole gaggle of men of varying ages, ethnicities and classes, who embody the social and emotional conflicts that Nick and Carter have experienced in their life together, and distill it into a clear, sharp truth: Nick and Carter are special, and they have a place in the world, a destiny, that matters. Never has Frank Butterfield gotten quite so existential as he does on this romantic, rocky, sun-baked island.
Of course there are several mysterious deaths, one of which is even tragic. There are plenty of eccentric and amusing characters, lush descriptions of the island and its people; and we also finally get the full story about Nick and Carter’s elusive friend, Gerald Whitcombe. And therein lies quite a startling tale, offering our boys a new insight into what their notoriety means in the larger picture of history.
Sounds portentous doesn’t it?
Once again, as with the last book, “The Leaping Lord,” this book feels poised on the precipice of something new—which, at #20, is pretty astounding. This series is not winding down. Frank Butterfield’s vivid imagination and love of history (and obsession with describing everybody’s height, weight, age and coloring—something I appreciate) is not petering out.
We’ve come a long way from the little house in San Francisco. Where will Frank take us next?
April 10, 2018
The story continues. Nick and Carter have sailed away from their problems on Nice and end up on Capri where a dying duke bequeaths them a house!! There are more bodies and a mystery to solve. Was it murder or suicide?
An excellent continuation to the saga.
An excellent continuation to the saga.
April 20, 2018
I liked this one a lot. The characters were really interesting and Lord Gerald is growing on me.
February 13, 2020
More!
We get to know more of Nick and Carter’s mysterious friend, Lord “Jerry” Gerald when he requests the dynamic duo deliver a package to his father who lives on the isle of Capri. Wow! Things start happening the moment they set foot on this tiny island which eventually heralds the arrival of Lord Gerald and his family to Capri. Murder or suicide? Who can be trusted? I loved loved loved this book and dare I say my oft repeated mantra? It’s my favorite so far of this 5 star series.
We get to know more of Nick and Carter’s mysterious friend, Lord “Jerry” Gerald when he requests the dynamic duo deliver a package to his father who lives on the isle of Capri. Wow! Things start happening the moment they set foot on this tiny island which eventually heralds the arrival of Lord Gerald and his family to Capri. Murder or suicide? Who can be trusted? I loved loved loved this book and dare I say my oft repeated mantra? It’s my favorite so far of this 5 star series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews