Austin Macauley Publishing and Authors Reputation Press announce the publication of The De Cenza Murder Mystery series by Chicago born author Arthur Cola. The tales will take you on a thrilling journey as a duo of sleuths find themselves caught up in blackmail, forbidden sex, theft and murder.

Arthur Cola informs us that his readers will be taken back to the 1960’s, a time of social, sexual and political unrest not unlike what is taking place today. At the same time it is a period of innocence and idealism for Ron De Cenza, the lead character and his pal Bob Wentz as they begin their journey to become priests and find murders to solve and murderers to catch, temptations to avoid, cultural treasures to save, and subversive organizations to defeat on the way.

Cola tells us that it all begins with “Murder in the Abbey" which will be available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble. It’s 1964, the sexual revolution is on a roll, the Catholic Church is renewing itself and in the heartland of America an Italian-American family is dealing with the worse news of their life. Their only son has chosen to enter the priesthood. He has broken up with his lovely Jewish girlfriend to enter a new life. He along with nine other non-traditional seminarians is being sent by the Church to a Latin School in rural Wisconsin. There amidst the restriction and rules of the Abbey a murder takes place and Ron must prove his innocence while at the same time avoiding entanglements with a certain girl from Georgia who works at the Abbey Gift Shop.

The adventure continues with “Murder at the World’s Fair.” Ron, his pals and the girl from Georgia are off to be guides at the New York World’s Fair Vatican Pavilion. Instead they find what they think is a battered man on the streets of the city. In their bonding with him they find themselves combatting the underworld, finding a body, rubbing elbows with prelates and Ambassadors in the United Nations, stopping the heist of the century while solving a murder.

Next up is “Murder in the Vatican” which finds Ron and Bob in Rome studying at the Apostolic College when his sister, Jan De Cenza, arrives with Susan Liguri, the girl from Georgia. The girls find themselves helping an injured man collapsing at the Bernini Fountain in St. Peter’s Square while Ron and Bob escape being held by police and protesters who seek to establish a new world order. In the sacred confines of the Vatican they discover a plot to steal priceless treasures of the Renaissance era, get involved with murder and intrigue with the Carabinieri police of Rome as they try to thwart an assassination on Lake Maggiore in the Alps of Switzerland.

The fourth book of the De Cenza Murder Mysteries is “Murder in Mellifont.”  Ron and friends are on a holiday in Ireland. In the ancient ruins of Mellifont Abbey there chants a Lady in Black. She has come to seek the “Holy Grail” of Ireland. Professor Pettigrew of Oxford University is also seeking this long lost symbol of Irish Heritage and he has as his research assistants Ron and his friends. Soon the blood of innocence runs red on the limestone chancel stone of the ruins and the holiday seekers find themselves embroiled in theft and murder which begins in Trinity College in Dublin and takes them to Slane Castle, the Hill of Tara and Trim Castle as a Chief Inspector is colliding with Ron who kneels in the blood on the chancel stone holding a murder victim.

The De Cenza Murder Mysteries by Arthur Cola during this time of the Covid Virus will take you back in time and to places where faith is ignited, history comes alive, and love blossoms in most unexpected ways while the chase is on and murders are solved in the style of Holmes and Watson and sometimes The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Finish your Christmas gift list and find the books at amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and learn more about them on arthurcolabooks.com and order at arthurcola.com.