Vita Brevis (Ruso Medicus Roman Crime Series) by Ruth Downie

Ruso, a doctor, and Tilla, a midwife, are the protagonists of this crime series set in Ancient Rome. They are at first glance a mismatched couple, he being a Roman from Gaul (France), she being a Celt from northern Britain, a relatively recent addition to the Roman Empire at the time of the stories. But in this couple's case, appearances are very deceiving. They are perfect together.

Rough-edged military doctor Ruso barely manages to hide his weakness: a deep sense of humanity and justice. In the sadistic world of the Ancient Roman Empire, those are not considered assets. His “foreign” wife values his character and shares his burdens in a way a traditional Roman wife would not. In fact, Ruso once had a very traditional Roman wife but she, fed up with his good nature, sought a divorce. To date, this very entertaining series follows the couple's meeting through to their start of their own family. 

I enjoy the books very much for their quality writing, deep humanity, realistic portrayal of couple and family life, complex protagonists, and the camaraderie of military life portrayed around Ruso. The accurate historical background to the stories is a bonus, since I enjoy historical novels. Being a fan of mystery and crime novels, the central crime plot is entertaining as well. If you have similar interests, you should enjoy the series too. Another aspect I appreciate is that the slavery of Ancient Rome is shown for what it was (and still is): evil.

Vita Brevis, book 7 in the series, begins in the empire's capital city, Rome, in our year counting 123 a.d. under the Emperor Hadrian. Ruso and Tilla are out of their native Gaul and Britain, and out of their depths much of the time when the provincials attempt to set up life in the big city. That adds some fun to this book, seeing the two trying to cope with new challenges. They are not city people, especially not in such a harsh city as Rome at that time, which was probably in many ways comparable to India's Mumbai today.

Crime and Ruso always find each other, and his well-developed conscience makes him feel compelled to get involved. He fights that feeling because the city of Rome is so full of vice that if he tried to fix it all, he would never have a life! But he is ordered by his patron, the man who vouched for him to come to Rome, to investigate more than one death. Doctoring in that era is always part of the story, since Ruso and Tilla are both medical practitioners, and there is plenty of that in Vita Brevis (Brief Life), too, but it never overshadows the story.

Ruso is a fascinating character. He is cursed to be a deeply human and moral man living in a deeply sadistic and amoral society. Tilla's love and presence gives him a reason to carry on. With a child now, the need to make a decent living is a feeling other parents will recognize.

The joy of parenthood pared with the enormous weight of responsibility for another human life, besides the lives of their patients, weighs on both Ruso and Tilla. When they make the decision to purchase slaves to help them cope with their hectic life, it is fascinating to see how they quickly understand that in exchange for the labor, they have taken on responsibility for even more lives, the lives of people who have nothing to live for.

Reading Vita Brevis felt like catching up with old friends. I got to see how they got on in the Empire's capital. I got to see how they dealt with the stresses of new parenthood and trying to set up life in a new place. I got to see if their humanity and decency remained intact in the face of Rome's great evils. I got to step back in time to see the new, despised Christians living side by side with the Empire's respected pagans. I spent several hours being entertained by a quality novel.

The books in the Ruso Medicus Roman Crime Series:

1. Medicus (reviewed on this site)
2. Terra Incognita
3. Persona Non Grata
4. Caveat Emptor
5. Semper Fidelis
6. Tabula Rasa (reviewed on this site)
7. Vita Brevis (reviewed on this site)
8. Memento Mori (reviewed on this site) 

From the book's description:

Ruso and Tilla's excitement at arriving in Rome with their new baby daughter is soon dulled by their discovery that the grand facades of polished marble mask an underworld of corrupt landlords and vermin-infested tenements. There are also far too many doctors--some skilled--but others positively dangerous.

Ruso thinks he has been offered a reputable medical practice only to find that his predecessor Doctor Kleitos has fled, leaving a dead man in a barrel on the doorstep and the warning, “Be careful who you trust.” Distracted by the body and his efforts to help a friend win the hand of a rich young heiress, Ruso makes a grave mistake, causing him to question both his competence and his integrity.

With Ruso's reputation under threat, he and Tilla must protect their small family from Doctor Kleitos's debt collectors and find allies in their new home while they track down the vanished doctor and find out the truth about the heiress's dead father--Ruso's patient--and the unfortunate man in the barrel.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

The Ides of June (Libertus Mystery) by Rosemary Rowe

This is the latest book in the long-running Libertus Mystery Series set in ancient Roman Britain (the year 193), featuring freedman mosaicist Libertus, who solves mysteries for his patron Marcus.  The book is rich with Celtic and Roman customs and facts about the times, which makes the story slow-moving but perfect for readers who love to learn along with their reading.

Libertus is called upon to help keep his patron's family safe while on the road, so we get a first-hand, close-up look at what it was like to travel within Roman Britain.  The author is honest, too, in showing how women and slaves did not fare well in the paternalistic, violent and slave-owning society.  We also see how life in Roman Britain varied for the natives from the life of the Roman imports.

The books in the Libertus Series to date:

1. The Germanicus Mosaic
2. A Pattern of Blood
3. Murder in the Forum
4. The Chariots of Calyx
5. The Legatus Mystery 
6. The Ghosts of Glevum 
7. Enemies of the Empire
8. A Roman Ransom
9. A Coin for the Ferryman
10. Death at Pompeia's Wedding
11. Requiem for a Slave
12. The Vestal Vanishes
13. A Whispering of Spies
14. Dark Omens
15. The Fateful Day (reviewed on this site)
16. The Ides of June
17. The Price of Freedom (reviewed on this site)

Libertus is sixty years old in this book, and the story picks up one month from the end of the previous book, The Fateful Day.  Because some of the previous events from the series are mentioned in the subsequent books, I would suggest reading them in order to avoid spoilers.

The dialog can seem stilted, even Shakespearean, at times, but that is because the author writes a first-person narrative from Libertus's point of view, and tries to convey the era and the character of the man through the language.

There are even Latin words in the story to remind the reader that Libertus is "writing" his account in that language.  All the Latin is explained for the reader.  The events surrounding the story at the Empire level are explained, too, within the story and in a Foreward.  Know that Libertus is a slave-owner, Celtic, married, with a growing family, and he manages, as always, to better his position in life by the end of the story.

From the book's description:

A compelling new mystery for Libertus, set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire in turmoil . . .

An astonishing new order has usurped power in Rome and the reverberations are reaching even to Glevum, where the legion is preparing to depart.  Libertus’s wealthy patron, until recently one of the most influential men in the Empire, finds himself not only deprived of the privilege and protection he had previously enjoyed, but under actual threat both from the political establishment in Rome and from an anonymous and vindictive enemy much closer to home.

The murder of another councillor, similarly placed, makes the matter urgent.  Libertus, whose humbler status affords obscurity, is charged with spiriting Marcus’s young family away to a place of safety.  But his task will bring problems of its own, as Libertus uncovers a grisly secret and an ancient crime – with ramifications stretching to the present day.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

Murder Most Unfortunate (Rick Montoya Italian Mystery) by David P. Wagner

Rick Montoya, the protagonist of the Rick Montoya Italian Mystery Series, is a cowboy boot-wearing, hyphenated Italian from New Mexico in the United States.  His mother was from Rome, Italy, and she made sure her son grew up fluent in her native tongue.  University degrees helped Rick's language skills further, and set him up well for his career as a translator and interpreter in Italy, which is possible because he holds dual citizenship.

The recurring cast of the series includes a friend with the Italian art police, and an uncle who is a police Commissario, providing Rick, the amateur detective, with that necessary insider information to help the hero catch the bad guys by the end of the book.

These are the books in the series to date:

1. Cold Tuscan Stone
2. Death in the Dolomites
3. Murder Most Unfortunate
4. Return to Umbria (reviewed on this site) 

I've only read book three in the series, Murder Most Unfortunate, which is set in Northern Italy's Bassano del Grappa on the Brenta River, in the Veneto region.  The murder mystery begins with the murder and we know the motive, making it structured like a police procedural, but we follow an amateur detective, not the police on their search for the killer. 

Cozy mysteries establish the setting and possible suspects and victims long before the murder takes place, then set the amateur detective loose, but we get those suspects and learn about the victim after the murder in Murder Most Unfortunate. 

So I'd have to put this book/series as a cross between the two genres, with elements of the traditional male protagonist adventure story, like the hot female character who falls for our tough-smart hero and joins him on his adventure, and some action sequences.  Rick, or Riccardo as he is often called by Italians, has an eye for the ladies, and his handsome looks and cowboy boot, New Mexican uniqueness draws the ladies to him.

The author includes descriptions of the Italian setting, but spends a bit more time describing the local food specialties, which should please the vicarious gourmand readers.  There are also some Italian words sprinkled through the story to add flavor.  The dialog is a bit stilted, but that could be because it is used to move the story forward, presenting much of the information through interviews with the suspects.

Part of the male adventure story aspect of the story is a hot, green-eyed waif in tight clothes who falls for Rick Montoya and helps him with his investigation.  I thought the author shouldn't have called the thirty-year-old woman a "girl" or even a "young woman".  Rick and his hot waif get to enjoy some action scenes with racing cars and motorcycles.  The author keeps the story clean, however, and there is only a small bit of in scene violence.

All in all the book was a light, entertaining read, but probably more suited to a male reader.  Don't expect literature or psychological drama or deep conspiracies.  This is a light mystery novel set in Italy, with a hunky male protagonist, some local color, and much local food.

 

Here are all the books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mystery Series to date, with their official book descriptions.

Cold Tuscan Stone - Book 1

Rick Montoya has just moved from Santa Fe to Rome, embracing the life of a translator. He’s beginning to embrace la dolce vita when school friend Beppo, now senior in the Italian Art Squad, recruits Rick for an unofficial undercover role. Armed with a list of galleries, suspects, and an expense account, Rick would arrive in Tuscany posing as a buyer for a Santa Fe gallery and flush out traffickers in priceless burial urns.

But, before sunset on his first day in Volterra, the challenge intensifies. Rick has one quick conversation with a gallery employee who dies minutes later in a brutal fall from a high cliff. Has the trade in fraudulent artifacts upgraded to murder? Are the traffickers already on to Rick?

The local Commissario and his team consider Rick an amateur, and worse, a foreigner. Plus Rick is a suspect in what proves to be the dead man’s murder. While the Volterra squad pursues its leads, Rick and the Volterra museum director continue to interview his list: a top gallery owner, a low-profile import/export businessman and his enterprising color-coordinated assistant, a sensuous heiress with a private art specialty and clientele. When Rick’s lover Erica, an art history professor, arrives from Rome to visit him, she rekindles a friendship with an alluring, maybe dangerous, heiress. Has Rick’s role made him the target of both cops and criminals?

Death in the Dolomites - Book 2

Rick Montoya is looking forward to a break from his translation business in Rome—a week of skiing in the Italian Alps with old college buddy Flavio. But Rick’s success helping the Italian police with a murder in Tuscany sends the Campiglio cops his way.

An American banker working in Milano is missing. The man’s sister, an attractive and spoiled divorcée, has no idea where he could be, nor do the locals who saw him on his way to the slopes. With the discovery of a body, Rick and Inspector Albani widen their list of suspects. Picturesque resort Campiglio harbors old rivalries, citizens on the make, and a cut-throat political campaign. Why would these local issues, any of them, connect to the missing banker?

The investigation doesn't keep Rick and Flavio from enjoying perfect ski conditions in the Dolomites and glorious after-ski wines and bowls of fresh pasta. As for women—Rick has to wonder if the banker’s sister is just hitting him up for information. The action heats up, testing laid-back Rick whose uncle, a Roman cop, keeps urging him to make the police his career.
As in Cold Tuscan Stone, Death in the Dolomites immerses us in the sights, smells and tastes of Italy, this time in a picture-perfect Alpine town with a surprising negative side.

Murder Most Unfortunate - Book 3

Winding up an interpreter job in Bassano del Grappa at a conference on artist Jacopo da Bassano, a famous native son, Rick Montoya looks forward to exploring the town.  And it would be fun to look into the history of two long-missing paintings by the master, a topic that caused the only dust-up among the normally staid group of international scholars attending the seminar.

Bassano has much to offer to Rick the tourist, starting with its famous covered bridge, an ancient castle, and several picturesque walled towns within striking distance.  He also plans to savor a local cuisine that combines the best of Venice with dishes from the Po Valley and the surrounding mountains.  These plans come to a sudden halt when one of the seminar's professors turns up dead.

Rick is once again drawn into a murder investigation, this time with a pair of local cops who personify the best and the worst of the Italian police force.  At the same time he's willingly pulled into a relationship with Betta Innocenti, the daughter of a local gallery owner, who is equally intrigued by the lost paintings.  They quickly realize that the very people who might know the story are also the main suspects in the murder—and that someone not above resorting to violence is watching their every move.

Here is a direct link to Murder Most Unfortunate's page at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website where he blogs and provides information on the locations in the books and their regional dishes.  Visit the Poison Pen Press page for the Rick Montoya series.

Murder in Megara (John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery) by Eric Mayer, Mary Reed

I love the originality of this murder mystery series, in a genre that often feels rehashed.  It is set during the Byzantine Era, when the Eastern Roman Empire was expanding after centuries of contracting.  The Emperor Justinian used brute force to reclaim all the bits and pieces that had once made up the Roman Empire, and brought them together again.

John, the protagonist of the series, of which this is book eleven, is a man who was enslaved, then made into a eunuch to work at the Byzantine court, the sexual mutilation a requirement of high civil servants at the time, a practice imported from the courts of Asia and Persia.

He worked his way up the bureaucratic ladder using his intelligence and clever skill, to reach the pinnacle, the Lord Chamberlain's position, Emperor Justinian's Chief of Staff, so to speak.  The top is always a dangerous place to be, especially in a political monarchy held together by military force.

The books in the John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery Series:

1. One for the Sorrow (reviewed on this site)
   
2. Two for the Joy
3. Three for a Letter
4. Four for a Boy
5. Five for Silver
6. Six for Gold
7. Seven for a Secret
8. Eight for Eternity
9. Nine for the Devil
10. Ten for Dying
11. Murder in Megara
    

The authors provide John with a richly imagined past and present.  In Murder in Megara, John is an exile from Constantinople, deemed a political enemy.  He is banished to his newly purchased property in Megara. Southern Greece.  That's where the story unfolds, rather than the busy capital which is the setting for the other books in the series.

I loved delving once again into John's life.  It felt like I was catching up with an old acquaintance, a fascinating and clever acquaintance.  The writers, as always, make the setting both exotic and familiar.  This series is a treat for fans of both historical novels and murder mysteries. 

Murder in Megara shows that John's life after his exile, and after the confiscation of most of his wealth and property, is still precarious.  He is under surveillance, since the usual fate of men like him was death.  John should count himself lucky, which he does, since he is still surrounded his friends, employees, and the love of his life, a cast of characters readers of the series will know well.

John suffers from the paranoid gossip and xenophobia of the locals.  He faces much local hostility:

We don't need a new landowner, especially one who'll actually live on his estate, meddling and upsetting things.

What did a farm estate produce in those days?  Honey, olive oil, wool, crops, live stock were common commodities, just as they were from Ancient Roman times up to the industrial revolution, when specialization pushed many small farmers out of business.  That existence is well portrayed in the book.

The authors skillfully present their story and characters.  As is the case with this genre, the setting and characters are introduced well before the titular murder occurs.  All the backstory a reader needs to know from the previous books in the series is skillfully presented, making it possible to read Murder in Megara as a standalone book.

Something that has always endeared me to John is that he refuses to employ slaves, since he was once one, and he cannot bear the indignity that it inflicts on the soul of the enslaved.  Since he chose to live modestly in Constantinople, he could indulge his principles regarding slavery, but when he becomes an active estate owner, there are economic pressures that come to bear on him, but his principles stand firm.  I'm glad, because I would hate to start disliking John now.

My advice is to avoid the book descriptions of the series books and this book, since they always contain spoilers, especially in the mystery genre.  Just go for it.  Read and enjoy the story as it develops.  Enjoy the rich cast of characters, too, who the capable writers portray distinctly and imaginatively. 

To be honest, I don't understand book reviewers who think novels have "too many characters".  A novel is supposed to have lots of characters.  Short stories and perhaps novellas can exist with a small cast of characters, but a novel is supposed to be rich with a multitude of characters.  Without them, the fiction of a real world remains just that, a fiction, and an unconvincing fiction at that!

From the book's description:

John, former Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, has been exiled from Constantinople to a rustic estate John has long-owned in Greece, not far from where he grew up.  But exile proves no escape from mystery and mayhem.

The residents of nearby Megara make it plain John and his family are unwelcome intruders.  His overseer proves corrupt.  What of the other staff—and his neighbors?  Before long, John finds himself accused of blasphemy and murder.  

Now a powerless outsider, he’s on his own, investigating and annoyingly hampered by the ruthless and antagonistic City Defender who serves Megara as both law enforcer and judge.  Plus there’s that corrupt estate overseer, a shady pig farmer, a servant’s unwelcome suitor, a wealthy merchant who spends part of his time as a cave-dwelling hermit, and the criminals and cutthroats populating such a seedy port as Megara.

Complicating matters further are two childhood friends whose lives have taken very different paths, plus the stepfather John hated.  

John realizes that in Megara, the solution to murder does not lie in the dark alleys where previous investigations have taken him, but in a far more dangerous place—his own past.  Can he find his way out of the labyrinth of lies and danger into which he has been thrust before disaster strikes and exile turns into execution?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, the author of the crime-romance novel THE HAGUE, the romance novel ROSE AND SINGING BAGELS, a traditional murder mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Words Can Kill (Ghostwriter Mystery Series) C.A. Larmer

The protagonist of the cozy mystery series Ghostwriter Mysteries is Roxy.  She authors books for other people, leaving her name off the cover, and leaving the fame to the name author, in exchange for a comfortable living.  Unfortunately adventure and mystery stalks mild-mannered wordsmith Roxy Parker, who is:

...the first to suspect foulplay in any situation.

Luckily Roxy is also an investigative journalist, so she is well-equipped to track down the truths and to resolve the mysteries.  Most of her stories occur in her native Australia, peppering the books in the series with wonderfully entertaining Aussie-isms (for non-Australians), dry humor, and stunning scenery.  However, book 5 in the series takes Roxy to the Italian Riviera for some equally stunning scenery.  

The author explains the change in scenery for Roxy:

My husband and I took our boys to Europe in 2013 and the Cinque Terre was one of our most cherished destinations.  We stayed in the heart of Riomaggiore for four days and loved every minute of it. While there I decided I just had to bring my protagonist Roxy Parker back.  It's such a magical place and I knew it would lend itself to a vibrant and colourful mystery.

Roxy's mystery is not just vibrant and colorful, it is mysterious and life-threatening for someone very close to her.  TIP:  Avoid the book's description if you want enjoy Words Can Kill to its fullest.  Paired with Caroline, a compatriot who is the complete opposite of Roxy, there are laughs and conflicts that lead both women to grow and groan along the way to resolving the mystery.

Along with the cozy fun, we get an accurate depiction of a ghostwriter's precarious career.  Part of the entertainment of this cozy series is that Roxy gets to change her scenery and associates quite often, at least with every new writing contract.  That keeps the stories fresh, and saves the population of her hometown from massacre, unlike the unlucky inhabitants of Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove (reference: TV's Murder She Wrote).

The books in the Ghostwriter Mystery Series to date are:

1. Killer Twist
2. A Plot to Die For
3. Last Writes
4. Dying Words
5. Words Can Kill
6. A Note Before Dying

The books are well-written, well-edited, and presented stylishly with eye-catching covers.  Each book can be read as a standalone book, but to understand the recurring characters' relationships it would be best to read the books in order.  The cozy elements are all there, including a possible love interest for Roxy, whose mother has decided:

You're destined for spinsterhood...

Be ready for some real pain and danger for Roxy's loved ones in Words Can Kill, in which the amateur sleuth's emotions are put through a wringer.  But trust that Roxy's dogged determination wins out in the end. 

The Italian scenery and characters enrich the book for any Italophile; two thirds of the book takes place in Italy.  We get good and bad guy Italians, an exciting finish, and a meaty Epilog in which all the loose ends are wrapped up for the reader.

From the book's description (spoilers):

WORDS CAN KILL is the fifth stand-alone mystery in the popular amateur women sleuths series featuring sassy ghostwriter Roxy Parker.

Fasten your seatbelts for a cozy mystery ride through Europe — but remember, this ain't no holiday.

Hunky photographer Max Farrell has just vanished into thin air, his last sighting in the arms of a blonde floozy at a Swiss mountain resort.  Max’s estranged girlfriend Roxy Parker pretends she doesn’t care but when his flatmate shows up murdered, bludgeoned by his own guitar, and then the floozy takes a dive off a cliff on the Italian Riviera, she must face the truth at last—Max’s life is hanging in the balance and she is his only hope.

Where is Max?
Who killed his Berlin flatmate?
And what the hell was he doing with that blonde in the first place!

In the latest Ghostwriter Mystery (each one a stand-alone story in itself), Roxy Parker packs her designer luggage and heads to Europe on a quest to find the man she wishes she didn’t love.  With his uber-trendy, self-absorbed sister, Caroline, by her side, Roxy must follow a series of tantalising clues that take them from the heights of Mt. Pilatus to the azure Mediterranean Sea encountering brash German police, secretive Swiss soldiers, and an Italian lothario to die for.

Here are direct links to all the books in the series at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website and blog.

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Cooking Spirits (Angie Amalfi Mystery) by Joanne Pence

Cooking Spirits is the latest, or perhaps the last, book in the Angie Amalfi Mystery Series; it is not clear which.  Because the story seemed to be making a happy end of many long running threads in the series, such as Angie's search for a career and for married love, I assumed it was a late addition to the series, six years after the previous book, to give the fans an ending for their beloved character.  But then the closure didn't arrive.

Spoiled, Italian-American Angie Amalfi has 14 books in which she tries and fails in a career, struggles to find a secure mate but seems to fail, gets involved in a mystery and with much help solves it.  For fans of cozy mysteries featuring an Italian-American amateur detective, that's a lot of books of fun, relaxing reading to look forward to!

Her inability to create a rewarding career for herself was one of the banes of her life.

The books in the series are:

1. Something's Cooking
2. Too Many cooks
3. Cooking up Trouble
4. Cooking Most Deadly
5. Cook's Night Out
6. Cooks Overboard
7. A Cook in Time
8. To Catch a Cook
9. Bell, Cook, and Candle
10. If Cooks Could Kill
11. Two Cooks a-Killing
12. Courting Disaster
13. Red Hot Murder
14. Da Vinci Cook
15. Cooking Spirits

Angie lives very comfortably in San Francisco, supported by her wealthy property tycoon father.  For most of the books, Angie's love interest is San Francisco Homicide Detective Paavo, and yes, that is his first name.  True to a seemingly universal cozy rule, both Angie and Paavo are drop-dead-gorgeous.  Angie is also a clothes horse.

She is loudly Italian-American, too, as she explains to a prospective wedding-planner:

I'm not a blue person.  I'm Italian!

I'm not really sure what that is supposed to mean, since the Italian football team is know as the Azzuri, the Blues.  But Angie has the requisite big, intrusive family, lots of close relatives, over-protective parents, and an obsession with food.

With all of Angie's skills, and her failure to find a wedding-planner for her big event with Paavo, I thought the author was setting up the big finish of having Angie finally find her ideal career:  Wedding Planner.  But that didn't happen. 

The planning and preparation for the wedding and for their life together takes up about half of the book, but we don't end with the wedding, or with a resolution to the "where are we going to live" question that runs through the whole book, either.  Nor the question about Paavo's emotional loyalties.

15 books is a long time to keep the threads weaving, or the balls up in the air, so to speak, so you can't blame me for expecting a resolution in this late-addition book to the series.  Glancing at some of the reviews, I suspect I'm not the only fan who was looking for closure.  But if you are an Angie fan, it looks like her story will continue.

Cooking Spirits is actually two books wrapped around each other:  Paavo's police procedural case of double homicide, and Angie's house-hunting and wedding problems.  Angie's part of the story involves a paranormal storyline.

There is a strong sense of place in the book, with lots of mentioning of streets, buildings, districts and places.  Many of the characters from the previous books are included in the story.  There are three recipes at the end of the book.  And we are treated to the menu of all of Angie's main meals. 

This is a leisurely paced book, probably of most interest to Angie and Paavo fans.  There is an exciting finish, but not a lot of resolution at the end of the book for Angie and Paavo.  It feels like the author may be planning on continuing the series for a few books more.

From the book's description:

Culinary queen Angie Amalfi has put aside her gourmet utensils to concentrate on planning her upcoming wedding to San Francisco homicide detective Paavo Smith. What could possibly go wrong?

Instead of the answer to her heart's dreams, she scrambles to deal with wedding planners with bizarre ideas, wedding dresses that don't flatter, squabbling relatives with hurt feelings, a long-suffering groom, and worries over where she and Paavo will live after the wedding. But all of that pales when Angie finds the perfect house for them, except for one little problem--the house may be haunted.

Many years ago, the newlyweds who lived in the house were murdered, and the case was never solved. While Angie pursues what happened to the couple who now may be haunting the house, Paavo obsesses over his own case involving the murder of unlikely lovers. The trail leads to ghosts, murders, unhappy families, and enough obnoxious wedding buttinskis to fill a graveyard. But when eerie happenings turn deadly, Angie fears she may be spirited away for good! 

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com, and to the first book in the series:

Please visit the author's website.  

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Hit and Nun by Peg Cochran

Hit and Nun and the Lucille Mystery Series is for cozy mystery fans who also love slapstick humor.  Lucille, a fifty-year-old Italian-American woman and grandmother, who is happily married to her childhood sweetheart, is the unlikely protagonist of this slapstick cozy series (3 books to date). 

An oddity with the books is the folksy narrative style.  It reads as if the writer originally wrote the stories in Lucille's first-person narration, then changed her mind and made the narrative style third-person limited, but kept the folksy style.  I found myself, more than once, wondering who this narrator was supposed to be.  A family member?  A member of the Italian-American community?  A member of the church where Lucille works?  We are never told.

Lucille jumped, and she could feel her heart thumping crazily in her chest.  She hoped she wasn't going to have no heart attack on account of being scared like that.

 Book One in the Lucille Mystery Series

There are recurring characters in Hit and Run whose relationship to Lucille are not entirely clear, at first, to someone who has not read the previous two books, such as myself.  But the author brings the reader up to date without giving away the plots of the previous books.  So if you choose, you can read the books out of order.

One recurring character is Lucille's policeman nephew.  All good cozy amateur detectives have to have a close link to the police department.  There is also an ex-boyfriend of Lucille's who is a police detective.  He's having a hard time dealing with the bodies Lucille tends to discover.

You keep stumbling over bodies like this and I'm gonna start wondering, you know?

Book Two in the Lucille Mystery Series

Lucille's family loves their Italian food and they follow the big Sunday dinner tradition that many hyphenated Italians enjoy.  Italian food plays a big part in their lives.  Lucille is particularly fond of Italian dishes, and she prepares plenty of them for her family, as she has since first getting married to her Italian-American husband.  Lucille's Roman Catholic faith also plays a big role in her life and in the books.

Cozies stay away from violence, sex, gore and disturbing subjects.  That is why I was surprised that the author included disturbing mammograms and a threat of breast cancer in Hit and Nun.  For personal reasons, I found those scenes and that storyline disturbing.  If I were not reading the book to review it here, as a review-copy, I would have stopped reading.  If you are sensitive to these subjects for reasons of your own, you may want to avoid this book in the series.  There are also lots of references to the negatives of aging, which some readers may find upsetting.

Sometimes she felt as if life had passed her by.  While she was busy cooking, cleaning and raising a family, the world had changed without her knowing it.

Giovanna "Gigi" Fitzgerald in the Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries Series, by the same author, is up to 3 books (links below)

There is lots of humor in Hit and Run, much of it physical humor.  But the verbal humor is there too, in abundance.  The folksy style might wear on some readers, but if you enjoy it, you will appreciate the verbal humor in the story more.

Yes, we -- me and Flo here -- are investigating like.  On account of Sal's mother asked my mother to ask me to see what I could do.

Be prepared for lots of reminiscences and stray thoughts of Lucille's that intrude on the crazy antics with her sidekick Flo.  Odd tangents at inappropriate moments are also part of the humor in the story, such as the contemplation of grass-stains on a killer's clothing, and how difficult it will be to remove them in the wash, all the while Lucille is intent on not getting shot.

The books in the Lucille Mystery Series:

1. Confession Is Murder
2. Unholy Matrimony
3. Hit and Nun
4. A Room with a Pew (reviewed on this site)

For middle-aged “Jersey girl” Lucille Mazzarella, only two things in life really count—her family and her friends.  When her brother-in-law’s body falls out of a church confessional, everything she holds dear is threatened, especially when the police arrest her husband for the murder.

Plagued by hot flashes, a thickening waistline, a mother addicted to the home shopping channel, and a sexy old flame who’s come back to town, Lucille really has her hands full.  And while she may not know much about solving crimes, this traditional churchgoer with very modern attitudes knows that with some prayers, some fast thinking, and some even faster talk she might just be able to nail the killer and restore order to her life.

The hilarious Lucille Mazzarella is back and planning a wedding.  But even the worst Bridezilla can’t create the wedding drama she’s about to face in this second book in the series.

Desperate to see her pregnant daughter Bernadette married before the baby comes, Lucille is engrossed in all things wedding.  Nothing will distract her from planning this Mazzarella main event. Nothing, that is, except for the murder of the mother of the groom.

Just when things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Lucille is named as the prime suspect, and it’s a race against time as she and her best friend Flo struggle with shady financial dealings, a family that isn’t at all what it seems, a groom that might not be all man, and a little bundle of joy that might make an appearance before the mother can say I do.

The hilarious Lucille Mazzarella is back, and this time she’s investigating a murder linked to her favorite pizzeria. When the fifty-something housewife goes undercover at a restaurant to solve the case, she quickly learns that if the killer doesn’t get her, the calories will.

When the owner of Lucille’s favorite pizzeria drops dead at her feet, she’s left wondering who could have harmed such a kind man—and wondering where she’ll get her favorite food now. Deciding to go undercover as a pizza maker to sniff out the clues—and maybe an extra slice or two—Lucille’s determined to track down the culprit before they can strike again.

As the hunt for the killer heats up, Lucille and her friend Flo dig deeper into the crime and discover a jealous wife, a competitive pizza man who would kill for more business, and a decades-old mystery that may hold the key to the murder. Trouble is, the one person who could break the case wide open is a nun who took a vow of silence—and she’s not talking.

Here are links to the three books at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.  Follow the author on Facebook.

The author has another series featuring Giovanna "Gigi" Fitzgerald in the Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries. 

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.