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Mozzarella Most Murderous
Culinary Mystery Series

by Nancy Fairbanks



      Carolyn Blue, over 40 now, is a food writer. She is traveling to Sorrento, Italy, to attend a scientific conference with her husband, Jason, sponsored by Ricci, owner of Ricci Chemicals. When Jason is stranded in Paris by an air traffic controllers' strike, Carolyn arrives in Sorrento ahead of him and is enjoying the romantic city. She spends the day and evening with Paolina Marchetti, who is at loose ends because her lover stood her up.

The next morning while having her coffee by the pool, Carolyn finds a body floating in the water. It is Paolina, who, it turns out, was the industrialist Ricci's lover. The police are reluctant to probe, fearing, among other things, mob connections. Since the police don't want to investigate, Carolyn teams up with Bianci, the wife of a scientist also attending the conference. They believe Paolina's death to be murder and set out, despite some danger to themselves, to find the murderer.

A cross between a romance and mystery, this cozy mystery is a fun read. It contains comments about food, clothes, art, and romance. It has elements of comedy when Bianci, nine months pregnant and close to giving birth, finding herself in situations that are almost slapstick. The two different teams of police who investigate the situation in a breathtaking waste of the taxpayers' money are another source of amusement.

This is an enjoyable book with the additional bonus of a wealth of Italian recipes, which are sure to whet the reader's appetite.

The Book

Berkley Prime Crime
July 2005
Paperback
0425203999
Cozy mystery
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Barbara Buhrer
Reviewed 2005
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© 2005 MyShelf.com