A Dish Best Served Cold (Italian Kitchen Mystery, #3)
by: Rosie Genova
Series: Italian Kitchen Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Source: Berkley Prime Crime
The national bestselling author of The Wedding Soup Murder returns to the Jersey Shore where a killer is stirring up trouble during a hurricane…
At the Casa Lido, the end of summer means a party, and hit whodunit writer Victoria “Vic” Rienzi and her family are cooking like crazy for the restaurant’s seventieth anniversary celebration. As they chop onions and garlic, old family friend Pete Petrocelli stops by, saying he knows something that would make for a good mystery novel. Curious, Vic asks Nonna to elaborate on Pete’s claim and learns of a relative who mysteriously disappeared back in Italy…
The night of the party brings a crowd—and a full throttle hurricane. When the storm finally passes, everyone thinks they’re in the clear—until the first casualty is found, and it’s Pete. Remembering his visit, Vic isn’t certain Pete’s death was an accident and decides to dig deeper into his story. What she finds is meatier than Nonna’s sauce…
REVIEW
Welcome back to Oceanside Park, New Jersey. Summer is almost over and the Rienzi family is preparing to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the family restaurant, Casa Lido. With such a big milestone, Nonna Rienzi refuses to cancel the celebration for a little thing called a hurricane. She’s adamant the storm will pass because she says so. Nonna who rules her family with an iron fist has a soft spot for town drunk, “Stinky” Pete Petrocelli. It seems Pete and his brother (Alfonso) were close to Vic’s grandfather (Francesco) and his brother (Zio Roberto), in the old country. But according to Nonna, Alfonso and Roberto took up with criminals and the Rienzi family never talked about him. In fact, she isn’t even sure what happened to Roberto.
Pete shows up and disrupts the party. He’s offered food to go and is sent on his way. The hurricane hits and Pete’s body is discovered in the town’s carousel house. Police rule Pete’s death an accidental drowning, but mystery writer Victoria “Vic” Rienzi isn’t so sure. Before his death, Pete tells Vic that he has stories to tell. Vic starts to wonder if he really did know things, things that could have got him killed.
Rosie Genova has written a wonderful tale of mystery with A Dish Best Served Cold. It appears Vic has truly learned her lesson from past investigations; she’s trying really hard not to get involved in another. Too bad her mother and sister-in-law, Sofia want her to look into Pete’s death.
The mysterious death of Pete actually helps Vic out in a couple of ways. It allows her to look into her family’s genealogy and helps her with her historical novel, loosely based on her family. Through research and determination, Vic uncovers more than she bargained for. It seems Pete was smarter than people gave him credit for. The question for Vic is whether Pete was killed for his past or for present knowledge. As the list of suspects grows, Vic realizes that she isn’t winning any friends by asking questions.
I love Rosie’s writing because not only do I get to learn about Italian dishes, but also because her writing allows me to just lose myself in the story. The whodunit scene was climactic involving several characters, ending in surprising information.
A Dish Best Served Cold also marks a shift in Vic’s life. It appears she’s about to get something she’s always wanted. I’m looking forward to finding out how she handles this turn of events and I’m hoping there’s more of the Italian Kitchen Mystery Series to come.
**Received a copy from Berkley in exchange for an honest unbiased opinion.**
Rating: 4
Purchase A Dish Best Served Cold from:
You can read my interview with Rosie here, and also enter to win the complete Italian Kitchen Mystery series set & a $25 Target Gift Card.
An Italian Kitchen Mystery Series:
Places to find Rosie Genova:
Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my review of A Dish Best Served Cold. The Italian Kitchen Mystery series is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. Plus....the recipes Rosie includes are amazing. I’m offering up a blog only giveaway of a paperback copy of A Dish Best Served Cold to a lucky US resident. Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. Good luck.
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I have not read this series but I would like to! It sounds really good! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Carol. I love this series. Plus the recipes are amazing. We make the Italian Wedding Soup from the previous book all the time.
DeleteI haven't read any of this series, and it would be my first time. Thanks for having the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteHey Anita.
DeleteThis is a good series. I totally loss myself in it. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out the blog only giveaway I'm having for the book. The link can be found on the right hand side of the blog. Or, you could just look under giveaways and find the giveaway that states Review & Giveaway.
I've read the first two books in this series and thought they were wonderful. I grew up in the Italian part of East NY, Brooklyn and even had an adopted uncle who was a state legislator for one term. Heck he even ran against Mayor Lindsay for Mayor of NY. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'd love to add this title to my home library.
Thanks for stopping by Nora. I haven't read the first book yet, but it is on my reading list.
DeleteI love this series , the first two books were fantastic, good recipes too ! kathambre@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy.
DeleteYES, the recipes are great. Thanks for stopping by.
I haven't started this series yet, but it sure looks fun. I love cozies and the Jersey shore seems like a great setting! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHi.
DeleteThe Italian Kitchen Mystery Series is one of my favorite series. I highly recommend checking it out.
Thanks, everyone for your kind words!! You made my day. (Especially you, Miss Kim!)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
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