3.75
funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes


Auntie Poldi is a force to be reckoned with. She’s a sixty year old German woman who decides to retire to Sicily, and her visiting nephew tells us of how Poldi, with a drink in hand, becomes concerned for her missing handyman and then finds him murdered nearby. This sends her off on an investigation involving a handsome detective inspector, statuary and the Mafia (which of course, “is just an invention of North Italian fascists designed to give us southerners a bad reputation” 😆).

Poldi is delightful and multifaceted and tenacious, and there were quite a few laugh out loud moments. This is a lovely cozy mystery with an unusual setting (at least for me!).