Book Review: Long Island Iced Tina by Maria DiRico
- Kristen Lewendon
- Oct 26, 2021
- 2 min read
Catering Hall Mystery Book 2
In the second installment of Maria DiRico's new Catering Hall Mystery series, Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens, in charge of the family catering hall Belle View Banquet Manor, and keeping her nonna company. But some events--like murder at a shower--are not the kind you can schedule... Mia's newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View--but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It's a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for "how to run a catering hall" can get you only so far. Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole's Belle View shower when a fight breaks out--and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . . Italian recipes included!
My Review:
I think, at this point, that I don’t really care what the author has written, I’m going to want to read it. I also know I’m going to love it. I knew I was already falling for the Carina family and all their quirky friends and employees in the previous book. This one has simply cemented my opinion. Mia, and those closest to her, jump off the page with such immediacy and vibrancy. They become so real that I almost believe I could run into them on the street. And the mystery is a delightfully twisted thing studded with red herrings and humor that kept me so distracted I could never get out ahead of the plot. I was swept up in all the family (and Family) happenings and too engrossed in them to care that I wasn’t trying to outthink the villain. I want this series to have a very long life to provide me with lots of reading enjoyment into the future.
Other books in the series:
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