Reviewed by Jeanne
Mia Carina couldn’t be happier with the way things are going at the Belle View catering hall. Well, maybe a little happier if the guest of honor at a Sweet Sixteen party wasn’t quite so needy, and maybe the Nativity-theme birthday party didn’t need real animals to show up. However, new hire Shane Gambrazzo is certainly earning his pay as the venue’s newest employee. He’s focused, efficient, and oh, so very gorgeous! It really is too bad that Mia is determined not to get involved with one of her employees. Also, there’s the little matter of her husband who may or may not be dead—well, yeah, he probably is, but not legally as they haven’t found the body. Yet.
Still, things are pretty good—until she gets a call from Donny Boldano from a burner phone. Donny is family and Family with a capital F. (Think The Godfather.) Donny assures her it’s a personal matter, not Family business. It turns out that a family secret, one that’s proven such a bombshell that it’s threatening to tear the family apart, is driving a wedge between Jamie Boldano and his parents and brother. Donny is hoping that Mia, as one of Jamie’s closest friends, can help ease the situation, but Jamie seems determined to burn bridges.
Mia’s own family matters take a turn for the worse when her estranged mother shows up, a woman who abandoned Mia and her brother as children and never showed any interest in reconnecting. There has to be a scam going on, and Mia is determined not to be taken in.
To top it off, Mia’s nonna (grandmother) Elisabetta is determined to win the neighborhood Christmas decorating contest, mainly because her hated rival Jacinta is also participating. Both women have been known to go to extremes in any contest—but would one of them go so far as to murder someone and plant the body in the holiday decorations? Especially someone who claimed to be Jamie’s long lost brother?
I have to say this has been one of my new favorite series, mostly because of the humor. Mia is a heroine to root for, devoted to her family, ambitious, and (mostly) level-headed. The supporting cast all have their moments, including Mia’s father whose life has picked up with his new girlfriend; her brother Posi, an attractive jailbird who is hoping to parlay his good looks into going viral on social media like the “hot felon,” Posi’s personal hero; Cammie, an employee (wink wink) who doesn’t work but who has a lot of very useful connections; the determined Elisabetta, who believes all is fair in love and war, especially war; and Teri, the determined reporter who is always on the scene and in the way. While there are some standard cozy tropes, there seems to be a bit more effort to create more fully developed characters than in some. This is especially true in the case of Mia’s mother. The plots sometimes spin off in multiple directions and may or may not all be related; solutions have been interesting.
Mostly, I just find the books very funny. There are two previous books in the series:
Here Comes the Body
Long Island Iced Tina
Maria DiRico is a pen name for Ellen Byron, who is the Agatha Award winning author of the Cajun Country mystery series. I may just have to check those out as well.
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