Love Italian food and wine? Love Italian crime fiction? Then get out your diary because restaurant Bocca di Lupo and publisher Pan Macmillan have teamed up to celebrate these two great passions with a lunchtime book club series dedicated to the author Andrea Camilleri.

Camilleri is the creator of the Inspector Montalbano books, which not only feature scintillating mysteries but also describe mouthwatering examples of Sicillian food. The London restaurant has lined up a series of speakers to appear at eight book club events starting this Sunday. You’ll be able to discuss the literature and devour the dishes described in its pages.

“Every time I read a Montalbano book – which is as often as they are written – I get so hungry for the Sicilian specialities that share a special place in my and the foodie sleuth’s heart,” explains Bocca di Lupo co-founder and chef Jacob Kenedy. “I thought a one-off series of book club lunches would be the best way to relieve this hunger, and alleviate the winter gloom.”

Lunches begin at high noon…
2 Feb – The Terracotta Dog – Guest speaker: Bocca di Lupo chef Jacob Kenedy
4 Feb – The Snack Thief – Guest speaker: chef Rowley Leigh
5 Feb – The Voice of The Violin – Guest speaker: cookbook author Claudia Roden
6 Feb – August Heat – Guest speaker: book editor Maria Rejt
9 Feb – The Potter’s Field – guest speaker: chef Fergus Henderson
11 Feb – The Age of Doubt – Guest speaker: Italian socialite Nancy Dell’Olio
12 Feb – The Dance of The Seagull – Guest speaker: journalist Kate Spicer
13 Feb– The Treasure Hunt – Guest speaker: restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles

It will cost you £30 to attend and spaces are still available, so contact Bocca di Lupo by emailing montalbano@boccadilupo.com or call 020 7734 2223. Camilleri’s books have sold over 65 million copies in over 30 languages.