Scan barcode
A review by moondance120
You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa
2.0
It was 11:53 p.m., and the late-night regulars showed no sign of leaving.
Eve Angelotta is the head chef of her family's restaurant, Miracola, near Philadelphia. Her grandmother (nonna), Maria Pia Angelotta, is a force to be reckoned with and often provides the entertainment for the restaurant. Eve stumbles over a body in her kitchen which turns out to be nonna's boyfriend, Arlen Mather. The murder weapon is Eve's mortar which was used to bash in his head. The Angelotta family has a collection of opera memorabilia that may be the reason for the murder. Of course everyone involved with the restaurant becomes a sleuth to clear nonna's name.
I truly tried to like this book. It sounded interesting and it was recommended by someone that I respect their opinion. I just couldn't connect with the characters. Eve was a former dancer whose career was cut short by an unfortunate accident during Mary Poppins. I can understand dwelling on that as it was her preferred lifestyle but I quickly became annoyed by the references to it. I really didn't care for Joe Beck. Her first contact with him is finding him digging through her compost pile looking for his wedding ring. He is a lawyer that is helping out his brother in a flower shop between clients. It just goes on and on from there. There are too many characters introduced at one time and everyone seems to be just a little off. I have a very good memory but found myself flipping back to the beginning of the book to figure out who people were. It was tiresome. Perhaps it is just debut chaos and will improve. I'm not sure that I can bear to read the next one.
2.5 stars
Eve Angelotta is the head chef of her family's restaurant, Miracola, near Philadelphia. Her grandmother (nonna), Maria Pia Angelotta, is a force to be reckoned with and often provides the entertainment for the restaurant. Eve stumbles over a body in her kitchen which turns out to be nonna's boyfriend, Arlen Mather. The murder weapon is Eve's mortar which was used to bash in his head. The Angelotta family has a collection of opera memorabilia that may be the reason for the murder. Of course everyone involved with the restaurant becomes a sleuth to clear nonna's name.
I truly tried to like this book. It sounded interesting and it was recommended by someone that I respect their opinion. I just couldn't connect with the characters. Eve was a former dancer whose career was cut short by an unfortunate accident during Mary Poppins. I can understand dwelling on that as it was her preferred lifestyle but I quickly became annoyed by the references to it. I really didn't care for Joe Beck. Her first contact with him is finding him digging through her compost pile looking for his wedding ring. He is a lawyer that is helping out his brother in a flower shop between clients. It just goes on and on from there. There are too many characters introduced at one time and everyone seems to be just a little off. I have a very good memory but found myself flipping back to the beginning of the book to figure out who people were. It was tiresome. Perhaps it is just debut chaos and will improve. I'm not sure that I can bear to read the next one.
2.5 stars