Gin-Scented Crimes: Mircalla Broglio presents her period thriller in Grandola ed Uniti.

Description

New York, 1926. A former librarian with a glass of gin always in her hand and a dachshund with an infallible nose solve crimes that cross the roaring twenties, from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the boulevards of Paris, up to the villas on the Lake Como. It is the narrative universe of Mircalla Broglio, author and illustrator of the novel Mabel Vane & Olivia Bow — Gin-Scented Murders (Talking Boxes, 2025), who presents his book Friday, July 3, 2026, at 8:30 PM at the Municipal Library of Grandola ed Uniti, in Piazza Luigi Camozzi 1. The meeting is organized by the Library in collaboration with the Municipality, with free admission.

Who is Mircalla Broglio?

Author, illustrator and creative, Mircalla Broglio graduated in Law at the’University of Insubria. He now lives in Follo, Liguria, but his roots are in the Como area—and it is precisely this double territorial bond that forcefully resurfaces in the novel, which moves between Lake Como and Monterosso al Mare. Mabel Vane & Olivia Bow This is her narrative debut for Scatole Parlanti, but the project also lives outside the pages of the book: the author has opened a small online shop — mircallabroglio.bigcartel.com —where the graphic universe of its protagonists takes the form of illustrated postcards, t-shirts, and original paintings.

A period thriller with Lake Como in its blood

The novel, released at the end of 2025 for Talking Boxes In the Giallo series, it's a 216-page historical mystery set in Prohibition-era America. The two protagonists— Mabel Vane, “former librarian with a shady past”, ironic and charming, and Olivia Bow, A cheeky dachshund with a sharp wit—they move between the unbridled luxury of Lake Como, the smoky skylines of New York, the boulevards of Paris, and the deceptive palm trees of Hawaii. Their rule of engagement is simple: solve crimes with style, always, before high society gets rid of them.

The names of the protagonists are a declared homage to the iconography of the 1920s: Clara Bow, a symbolic actress of silent cinema and flapper icon, lends her surname to Olivia; Sybil Vane, the tragic character of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, lends his to Mabel.

From drawings to novel

The book is born from the drawings, even before the writing. Mircalla Broglio also signs the internal illustrations and the cover, with a pop-deco style and a recognizable palette—acidic greens, shocking pinks, and light blues—that immediately establishes the novel's vibrant mood. It all started a few years ago with a series of drawings dedicated to her dachshund, aptly named Olivia, and from there, story after story, the project grew into the novel. The settings are no coincidence: New York it is the city that the author has always imagined living in, Como and the Como area represent his origins and family ties, While Monterosso — in the La Spezia area — is the territory that adopted it and which appears in the book with the famous Giant as its backdrop.

A personal connection

In a recent press interview, Broglio explained that the novel was also born from a deep emotional bond: Olivia the dachshund—the real one, not the fictional one—entered his life at a difficult time, and the book is, in some ways, a declaration of affection toward her. Perhaps this is the secret to the canine character's permanence on the page: not a supporting character, but a true co-protagonist with her own personality, flair, and lines.

Event information

• 📍 Where: Municipal Library of Grandola ed Uniti, Piazza Luigi Camozzi 1
• 📅 When: Friday, July 3, 2026, 8:30 PM
• 📖 Author: Mircalla Broglio
• 📚 Book: Mabel Vane & Olivia Bow — Gin-Scented Murders (Talking Boxes, 2025, 216 pp., €18)
• 🛒 Author's online shop: mircallabroglio.bigcartel.com
• 📱 Instagram: @mircallabroglio
• 🎟️ Entrance: free
• 🏛️ Organization: Municipal Library of Grandola ed Uniti, in collaboration with the Municipality