Capri and a Taste for Murder with Matt Baker
Capri with Matt Baker
Do you have a taste for Murder? Matt Baker does and he’s got a trail to prove it!
Book map of A Taste for Murder
The beachside restaurant that provided the inspiration for Da Vinale’s in my debut novel, A Taste For Murder, isn’t in Capri, as readers might imagine, but is to be found 500km away on the south-west coast of Sicily.
This restaurant inspired the one in the book
This trattoria was so strongly recommended by a friend that my family drove four hours out of our way to find it. After a hiccup on our first visit, when I ordered raw prawns instead of a steaming bowl of seafood linguine, we’ve dined there happily several times since.
It’s one of those unpretentious, family-run affairs the Italians do better than anyone else – the patriarch is the chef and, like Gennaro in my novel, he washes under a pump after a long, sweaty session in the kitchen before coming out to gladhand his customers.
Book map of A Taste for Murder
Of course, the fact that Da Vinale’s isn’t to be found on Google Maps may not stop some readers from searching for it; tourists have been known to ask for directions to the Hotel Portofino, the fictitious 1920s establishment run by the aristocratic Ainsworth family in my TV drama of the same name set in the eponymous town on the Ligurian coast.
Booktrail – love this!
Hotel Portofino
Book map of A Taste for Murder
If readers do go looking, they’re unlikely to find many beach restaurants of any sort… there are almost no beaches on the island. As I describe it in the story, Capri emerges from the Bay of Naples ‘like an overturned pumice stone in the bath’; its coastline is rocky and guarded by vertiginous cliffs and most of its hotels and restaurants are in Capri town, perched in the centre and flooded by day trippers from Easter to late October.
Capri port
Book map of A Taste for Murder
Why then set a murder mystery based in and around a beachside restaurant on the island? Well, Capri is one of those small, claustrophobic places where you imagine everyone knowing everyone else’s businesses. It’s been an aspirational location since it was patronised by some of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars in the 1950s, thanks to its history, its climate and its stunning views of the Amalfi coast and the brooding presence of Vesuvius behind. And, of course, it’s a short ferry hop from Naples, with all its gritty charms and its strong associations with organised crime that my detectives find themselves having to combat in the book.
The view from Mount Vesuvius
Book map of A Taste for Murder
I first visited Capri a quarter of a century ago with my wife (then my girlfriend). Jo was pregnant with our daughter and for some reason we (I?) thought it a good idea to trek through the narrow lanes of the Tiberio district in 30-degree heat. We made it all the way up to Tiberius’s Leap, the summit of a terrifying 330 metre cliff on the eastern tip of the island that features as the location of the first killing in A Taste for Murder.
Tiberius’s Leap
Book map of A Taste for Murder
Last Easter, Jo and I returned to Capri to scout locations for my novel and for my TV series of the same name premiering later this year. We walked the length of the winding Via Mulo to Marina Piccola on the southern coast of the island with its views across to the famous Faraglioni rocks representing the Sirens of Greek myth who lured sailors to their deaths with their enchanted song.
Faraglioni rocks
It’s here that Da Vinale’s really took root in my imagination. And we spent time exploring the atmospheric back streets of Naples, in and around the famous Fine Spaccanapoli and familiarising ourselves with the neighbourhood of the fascist-era police HQ, La Questura, in which many of the police scenes are set.
Book map of A Taste for Murder
A couple of tips for would-be travellers. The island of Procida isn’t as stunning as Capri but it’s equally accessible from Naples and less crowded (as well as a bit more beach friendly). The Ristorante da Mariano overlooking the harbour on the southern coast of the island offers delicious and inexpensive food of the type I imagine them serving in Da Vinale’s.
And if you fancy the perfect Negroni to round off your excursion, like Joe and Lara in A Taste For Murder, then look no further than L’Antiquario, a fabulously atmospheric speakeasy in the shadow of Naples’ famous Castel Nuovo.
Thank you so much Matt! Love the mix of TV and book locations!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: A Taste for Murder
Insta:@mattbakerwriter/
