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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Fiesty and firey 60 year old Poldi encounters a dead handyman, a lovely Frenchwoman, a landscaper under suspicion, an eccentric aficionado of Hölderlin and his poetry, the requisite handsome Italian detective, and the fantasy that is Sicilian life and food. Narrated by her nephew with a vivd imagination. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Auntie Poldi spends her time as a recent retiree with a lot of wine, cigarettes, and, by choice, not many visitors. But when her handyman is murdered she vows to find his killer. More Auntie Mame than Jessica Fletcher, Poldi jumps into her investigation like a force of nature. With the help of her loyal extended family, along with a very handsome police detective, Poldi moves closer to the murderer- not realizing that she herself is in danger. Poldi is an absolute delight, the Sicilian setting is glorious, and the mystery is a real puzzler. Read this book and fall in love with Poldi’s sassy ways!
An enjoyable crime mystery. Easy to read.
Aunt Poldi is an interesting creation - imagine Miss Marple as a mildly depressed, alcoholic German/Italian played by a late middle-aged, slightly over-weight Sophia Loren in modern-day Sicily.
I need time to reflect on whether there was enough in this book to tempt me to buy the next in the series.
Aunt Poldi is an interesting creation - imagine Miss Marple as a mildly depressed, alcoholic German/Italian played by a late middle-aged, slightly over-weight Sophia Loren in modern-day Sicily.
I need time to reflect on whether there was enough in this book to tempt me to buy the next in the series.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is the first in a series of light mysteries by Mario Giordano featuring the sixty-year-old Isolde Oberreiter (Auntie Poldi) from a Sicilian expatriate family in Germany. A glamorous widow, she’s decided it’s time to die and she’s happy to settle by the sea and drink herself to death. Of course, fate intervenes when Valentino, a young man who has helped her with some the moving in repairs, disappears. She is certain there was foul play and begins trying to find him.
Which she does, coming upon his body and taking the time to look for clues before calling the police. Her father was a homicide detective and Auntie Poldi has obviously learned a lot from him. The lead detective is Vito Montana, a virile and interested man who Poldi wants to best and seduce. Along the course of the investigation, she does both .
I did not like this book as much as I think I should have. It really is perfectly suited for one of those fabulous Masterpiece Mystery series featuring a glamorous older woman whose past is full of mystery, adventure, and bohemian excess. She may be a bit old and creaky with a trick knee, but she’s bright and clever. Somehow, though, it was a bit off for me. It felt almost as though it was being written for a TV series.
The nephew narrator is unnecessary, other than giving her the appellation Auntie. For her to be an auntie, there must be a nephew or niece, but I found him a distraction and annoying. My Aunt Harriet was not my aunt, it can be an honorific.
Here’s the thing, the pilot episode on a TV series can be a bit annoying, full of introduction and character background that is fed to us rather than learned organically. Subsequent episodes can be brilliant because they got that out of the way. I am hoping the same for this series. There was a lot of painting in the background. If Giordano trusts his readers to remember what we have learned and drops that in the future, I am sure the rest of the series will be far better.
I received a copy of Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions from the publisher through NetGalley.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Mario Giordano at WorldCat
Interview with Mario Giordano at Public Libraries Online
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/05/05/9781328863577/
Which she does, coming upon his body and taking the time to look for clues before calling the police. Her father was a homicide detective and Auntie Poldi has obviously learned a lot from him. The lead detective is Vito Montana, a virile and interested man who Poldi wants to best and seduce. Along the course of the investigation, she does both .
I did not like this book as much as I think I should have. It really is perfectly suited for one of those fabulous Masterpiece Mystery series featuring a glamorous older woman whose past is full of mystery, adventure, and bohemian excess. She may be a bit old and creaky with a trick knee, but she’s bright and clever. Somehow, though, it was a bit off for me. It felt almost as though it was being written for a TV series.
The nephew narrator is unnecessary, other than giving her the appellation Auntie. For her to be an auntie, there must be a nephew or niece, but I found him a distraction and annoying. My Aunt Harriet was not my aunt, it can be an honorific.
Here’s the thing, the pilot episode on a TV series can be a bit annoying, full of introduction and character background that is fed to us rather than learned organically. Subsequent episodes can be brilliant because they got that out of the way. I am hoping the same for this series. There was a lot of painting in the background. If Giordano trusts his readers to remember what we have learned and drops that in the future, I am sure the rest of the series will be far better.
I received a copy of Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions from the publisher through NetGalley.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Mario Giordano at WorldCat
Interview with Mario Giordano at Public Libraries Online
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/05/05/9781328863577/
This is a fun mystery with many quirks of European writing. I love Poldi and her quirks. The mystery lost me at times only because i was distracted by charming asides. The novel is joyful and fun and I think it would be great to read while traveling.
This is a romance/culture porn story disguised as a mystery, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I was expecting more elements of a mystery novel than there actually were. Poldi is an interesting character, but that does not make up for the pacing that was all over the place and lack of a detailed murder mystery (basically there would be no way for the reader to see it coming because crucial information is not revealed until the very end, and the suspects are not developed very well). It was OK and not a bad book, but it wasn't for me.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is absolutely delightful. Reading this book felt like a mini-vacation to Sicily, full of colorful characters and all the twists and turns I crave in a mystery. Auntie Poldi is a 60 year old widow who has retired to Sicily, where she makes quick work of becoming the town's premier amateur detective. She charms most of the town's residents (and me) immediately, with her colorful storytelling, penchant for wine, and signature black wig. I hope future books in this series are translated into English so I can keep following her story!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The sense of place in this is marvelous. Auntie Poldi herself is awesome. But this ended up being a very meh read that I was happy to put behind me. I think part of it might be the way its narrated, which is confusing and oftentimes muddies the story for no reason.
Another thing--I wonder if some of the charm of this didn't translate. This is a translation, and for the not-first time, I found myself wondering about the idea that sometimes things really do get lost in translation, and this may be one of those times.
Another thing--I wonder if some of the charm of this didn't translate. This is a translation, and for the not-first time, I found myself wondering about the idea that sometimes things really do get lost in translation, and this may be one of those times.