The Magus of Sicily is the latest novel by Philip Gwynne Jones. It is set in a new location for this author, who is generally associated with crime novels set in Venice. In ‘The Magus of Sicily’ the action unfolds on the sun-baked shores of Sicily where a lively narrative makes for evocative and atmospheric reading.

The action starts with an annual festival held in late June in the small town of Aci Trezza. The festival celebrates the town’s relationship with the sea and features a group of fishermen heading out to sea to spear a swordfish. Nowadays the swordfish is played by a young man of the town and the spearing of the fish is both symbolic and very bloody. Fake blood is used with gay abandon and crowds jostle along the shoreline to witness the gory pantomime-like spectacle. Against this backdrop of blue sea, red blood and cheering crowds, a body is spotted floating motionless in the water. At first the crowd think it’s part of the show, but then people realise that the body in the water is in fact dead.

So the question is are we looking at an accidental death or could it be a murder?

Enter Nedda Leonardi, a young and enthusiastic journalist, who has had her fill of pasticceria stories and is desperate for a big, meaty (or fishy) lead. Nedda is working on the local paper and is surrounded by men. There’s the benevolent editor, kind but not exactly dynamic, then there’s the beguiling Stefano, her colleague and immediate boss and finally there’s her caring but somewhat distant father.

The story develops briskly with an interesting set of characters including half of Sicily’s clairvoyant community. Many of the characters are not quite as they seem and as Nedda investigates the unexplained death she becomes convinced that the unfortunate individual floating in the sea was in fact murdered. Nedda embarks on a convoluted journey to discover the truth. As our plucky journalist travels around the local area interviewing potential leads her trusty Enfield motorbike becomes a character in its own right.

Frequent and accurate references to Sicilian life, including Etna Spritz ‘aperitivi’ and ‘cannoli’ pastries keep the reader engaged and immersed in the every day life of this corner of the island. Even the use of Buscemi as a common surname in this part of Sicily is spot on. One of the main characters in the book Calogero Maugeri, also known as ‘The Magus’ became lodged in my brain as a Danny Devito lookalike, dressed in a white linen suit and scuttling across the tropical meadows of Latin America in the film ‘Romancing the Stone’. I’m not sure this was the look that Jones was going for, but it amused me.

Gwynne Jones writes deftly about the small towns sandwiched between Catania and the foothills of Etna without glossing over the practicalities of every day life. Etna is the most active volcano in Europe and regularly spews ash and the occasional lava flow into the surrounding areas. Many of the towns are named after lava flows, for example Linguaglossa, which translates as ‘large tongue of lava’. Etna’s presence and dominance in this part of Sicily cannot be overestimated. Accurately, the volcano’s brooding presence is never far from the narrative, a bit like Malcolm Lowry’s ‘Under the Volcano’ novel of the 1940s.

I was also impressed by the author’s knowledge of the Italian press, very few non-Italians appreciate and understand the nuances of the Italian newspaper and media world, and the impact Berlusconi had on Italian television in the 1980s. Frequent mentions of La Stampa, Repubblica, Corriere della Sera and Il Sole 24 Ore confirm this. As my Italian friends would say ‘Complimenti’.

The Magus of Sicily is well worth a read. It’s carefully put together, thoroughly researched and also a good yarn (very important). This is a perfect book to take on holiday with you or to read whilst dreaming of Sicily. The author provides a useful map at the beginning of the book and an excellent glossary of terms at the end, ideal for the engaged reader, and handy for context.

Verdict – Strongly recommended.

• Book review by Janet Simmonds (I’m impartial and bought my own copy of the book)
• The hardback book is out now. Paperback in April 2026.
• Janet Simmonds writes about Italy on her blog: www.educated-traveller.com
• I’ve written about Etna here: Volcanoes in Italy – Vesuvius and Etna

4th August, 2025