Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I think this was trying to be a cross between Mma Ramotswe and Inspector Montalbano and for my money, didn't quite hit the mark. I picked this up to read on my holiday in Sicily, and while I enjoyed visiting some of the places depicted in the book, it felt like Sicily as an island was the strongest character in this. I wanted to like this more than I did. It was ok, but I really struggled with the pages of euphemisms for sex, which began to grate on me rather.
funny
Cute, fun and compulsively readable. A little higher-brow than a cosy mystery but still with that same general feel. Some of the romance elements had me rolling my eyes, but overall I thought the writing was great and the plot interesting. I loved all the characters in Poldi's live and I look forward to reading more in the series. A little fluffy, and a little less detail than I'd like on the main murder plot but still a fun read.
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Summer mystery in a beautiful setting. The writing feels out of date but it's a quick read with a strong, eccentric protagonist. Might read another but I know there's more out there I'd like More .
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For Memorial Day weekend in 2022 I went to Boston with my family. The Barnes and Noble at the Prudential Center was closing and therefore having a huge sale. On the New Fiction shelf there was Auntie Poldi and the Handsome Antonio. The cover caught my eye and being set in Sicily caught my interest. I bought it even though it's the third book in a series. I put off reading it until I could start with book one.
Fast forward to this summer and Audible has the four translated Auntie Poldi books available on their included catalog.
The narration is really good. I like the different voices Matt Addis performed and he really captured the humor. While there are plenty of funny moments, sassy comments from Poldi, and antidotes about Sicily, Giordano doesn't neglect that Poldi is alcoholic that is struggling to remain sober and sometimes she does become depressed.
It was a good murder mystery that kept me guessing with the obvious red herrings. I also loved the mention of Chekhov's Gun. I want to say more but I don't want spoil the mystery either.
I also bought the e-book for $2.99 and there's a Q&A with Mario Giordano. He mentioned that he really did have a glamorous, Bavarian aunt named Poldi who moved to Sicily when she was sixty and she drank herself into a grave. The protagonist is a loosely based on her and the mystery genre is how he's telling a semi-autobiographical story. In this case writing what you know is working.
4 out of 5 Lions.
Memorable quotes:
Page 10 - ...and the relationship between physical stature and criminality in the male population of Sicily. His rule of thumb: the shorter the man, the more threatening and the more likely to be a Mafioso.
Page 20 - The fact was, Poldi had a hobby: photographing good-looking traffic cops from all over the world.
Page 26 - The chocolate and pistachio ice creams had run into each other; they tasted sweet and bitter and salty. Like tears and unfulfilled hopes, she thought.
Page 37 - Quite unnecessarily, it should be added, but having been a costume designer she ought to know.
"A woman's supreme rule for success in business," she told me later, "is: when the chips are down, show plenty of cleavage."
Page 37- "...Always overdress - Karl Lagerfeld told me that. It's an old theatrical rule: moderation is a sign of weakness. Get that into your fat head."
Page 55- "You chatted him up," I exclaimed when she told me about it later. "You find a dead body and flirt with the chief investigator. You're simply-"
"Shameless?"
"No, totally cool."
Page 61 - "No playing Miss Marple, are we agreed?"
"We'd make such a good team, though."
Page 73 - First, however, she bought herself a notebook in which she recorded every lead, every clue, every name, every phone number, every fart - absolutely every last thing. The most important leads she neatly transferred to a card index and pinned up on the wall of her bedroom, together with photographs, newspaper articles and a map of Sicily.
Page 153 - "You've got to make lists in life," Poldi advised me some weeks later. "Lists are magical-that's because they develop a life of their own. Once you start one, it insists on being continued ad infinitum. You may cross out an item from time to time, but you're never finished. A list is never complete, remember..." <- story of my life.
Page 155 - Russo and Patané were arguing in Sicilian, and that, it should be pointed out, has as much in common with Italian as Swiss German with Frisian. The gulf between Italian and regional dialects is far greater than in most countries, and Sicilian is more than a dialect. It is a guttural, almost Arabic-sounding mélange, the phonetic heritage of all the races that have ever occupied the island. Significantly enough, Sicilian has no future tense.
Page 155 - The message is unmistakable: we live in the here and now, and only in the here and now.
Fast forward to this summer and Audible has the four translated Auntie Poldi books available on their included catalog.
The narration is really good. I like the different voices Matt Addis performed and he really captured the humor. While there are plenty of funny moments, sassy comments from Poldi, and antidotes about Sicily, Giordano doesn't neglect that Poldi is alcoholic that is struggling to remain sober and sometimes she does become depressed.
It was a good murder mystery that kept me guessing with the obvious red herrings. I also loved the mention of Chekhov's Gun. I want to say more but I don't want spoil the mystery either.
I also bought the e-book for $2.99 and there's a Q&A with Mario Giordano. He mentioned that he really did have a glamorous, Bavarian aunt named Poldi who moved to Sicily when she was sixty and she drank herself into a grave. The protagonist is a loosely based on her and the mystery genre is how he's telling a semi-autobiographical story. In this case writing what you know is working.
4 out of 5 Lions.
Memorable quotes:
Page 20 - The fact was, Poldi had a hobby: photographing good-looking traffic cops from all over the world.
Page 26 - The chocolate and pistachio ice creams had run into each other; they tasted sweet and bitter and salty. Like tears and unfulfilled hopes, she thought.
Page 37 - Quite unnecessarily, it should be added, but having been a costume designer she ought to know.
"A woman's supreme rule for success in business," she told me later, "is: when the chips are down, show plenty of cleavage."
Page 37- "...Always overdress - Karl Lagerfeld told me that. It's an old theatrical rule: moderation is a sign of weakness. Get that into your fat head."
Page 55- "You chatted him up," I exclaimed when she told me about it later. "You find a dead body and flirt with the chief investigator. You're simply-"
"Shameless?"
"No, totally cool."
Page 61 - "No playing Miss Marple, are we agreed?"
"We'd make such a good team, though."
Page 73 - First, however, she bought herself a notebook in which she recorded every lead, every clue, every name, every phone number, every fart - absolutely every last thing. The most important leads she neatly transferred to a card index and pinned up on the wall of her bedroom, together with photographs, newspaper articles and a map of Sicily.
Page 153 - "You've got to make lists in life," Poldi advised me some weeks later. "Lists are magical-that's because they develop a life of their own. Once you start one, it insists on being continued ad infinitum. You may cross out an item from time to time, but you're never finished. A list is never complete, remember..." <- story of my life.
Page 155 - Russo and Patané were arguing in Sicilian, and that, it should be pointed out, has as much in common with Italian as Swiss German with Frisian. The gulf between Italian and regional dialects is far greater than in most countries, and Sicilian is more than a dialect. It is a guttural, almost Arabic-sounding mélange, the phonetic heritage of all the races that have ever occupied the island. Significantly enough, Sicilian has no future tense.
Page 155 - The message is unmistakable: we live in the here and now, and only in the here and now.