February 13, 2023
Carcaterra’s charming sequel to 2022’s Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride finds 70-year-old widow Nonna Maria, the Italian island of Ischia’s favorite amateur sleuth, dealing with two mysteries. The first is the murder of an unidentified woman, found by the side of a road leading down to the port. The second concerns an accusation of theft made against Nonna Maria’s goddaughter, Loretta, a maid at the Grand Hotel Excelsior. Eager to appease their haughty guest, the management promptly fires Loretta while the police look into the incident. Using “her wide network of contacts throughout the island and as far away as Rome (though she had never set foot in that city),” Nonna Maria conducts her own investigations, while collaborating with the captain of the carabinieri, Paolo Murino. When not solving a crime or helping a friend in need, she’s “content to drink more than her share of coffee during the day and white wine in the evening and cook large, flavorful meals for her family.” Appealing characters match the diverting plot. Carcaterra offers armchair travelers a soothing vacation from daily strife. Agent: Andrea Blatt, WME.
March 1, 2023
Nonna Maria, one of the matriarchs of the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, assists Paolo Murino, the captain of the local carabinieri, with two cases. They've developed mutual respect and trust, which is necessary when a guest at Grand Hotel Excelsior claims a valuable family necklace was stolen from her room. She blames a maid, but that maid is Nonna Maria's goddaughter. No one ever saw the missing necklace, and Murino and Nonna Maria doubt that it exists. Nonna Maria has a plan to expose the con, though. She also gets involved in the investigation of the death of an unidentified woman when a young local man tells her he's afraid he might have hit the body. Although that's easily proven false, the woman's story points at the past and the cruel separation of a mother and child. The clever solutions to the crimes derive from Nonna Maria's knowledge of the people of Ischia. VERDICT A streetwise Italian Miss Marple is a shrewd amateur sleuth in this atmospheric series installment (following Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride) that leaves a hint of more Nonna Maria mysteries to come.--Lesa Holstine
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 15, 2023
In her second outing, the aged Italian crime solver known as Nonna Maria investigates the theft of a necklace from a hotel room and the murder of an unidentified woman. A sequel to Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride (2022), the novel is set on the sun-drenched, tourist-friendly island of Ischia, an hour's ferry ride from Naples. Nonna Maria, a widow in her 70s, is known far and wide as a person to go to in times of trouble--and a kindly soul who will bring a batch of home-cooked food if she comes to you. Straight-talking and proudly self-sufficient (she'll never accept a ride when she can walk), the amateur detective is suspicious from the start about a woman's claim that a valuable necklace of hers was stolen--mainly because the woman has accused the hotel maid, Nonna Maria's upstanding goddaughter, of the theft. Of graver concern is the death of a woman whose body was found alongside a road without any identifying documents. Nonna Maria quickly determines that the woman had recently returned to the island after many years, that she had family ties there--and that she had been killed. But figuring out who did the deed and why proves elusive. Known for gritty urban crime novels such as Sleepers (1995) and Street Boys (2002), Carcaterra seems to have fun writing about his native Italy, and readers will have just as much fun with this new series. The essence of cozy with its low-key charm, clever plotting, and disarming storytelling, the book is also sharp and subtle. Great details abound, including Nonna Maria's refusal to drink espresso poured from any pot but her own--her first gift from her late husband. A winning mystery that promises a long run for the Nonna Maria series.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
April 1, 2023
Nonna Maria, who has spent the entirety of her 70-odd years living on the Italian island of Ischia, can be counted on to help her family and friends. When her goddaughter Loretta is accused of stealing a valuable necklace at the hotel where she works as a maid, Nonna Maria investigates. Meanwhile, she also looks into the murder of an unknown woman who was found on the side of the road after being thrown from a car. In both cases, she uses her wide circle of loyal friends and contacts on and off the island, including a captain in the Carabinieri, to help her gather information, along with her knowledge of human nature and gentle questioning technique, much in the manner of Miss Marple. Nonna Maria is beautifully brought to life in this cozy mystery framed by the lovingly described, sun-soaked Ischia setting and enlivened by the quirky characters who make up Nonna Maria's network. The ending nicely sets up her next adventure.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.