Here Comes the Body (A Catering Hall Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Kensington (February 25, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 page

Synopsis

After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her Nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . .

Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and a deadly surprise is revealed . . .

Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . .

Italian recipes included!

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Review

I’m a huge fan of this author’s other series written under the name Ellen Byron because of my Cajun connections.  So, of course, I wanted to check out a new series and was intrigued by the family with mob connections.  Let’s just say it makes for some humorous situations sprinkled throughout when people learn who Mia’s father is and his connections.

Mia arrives back in Astoria to assist her father in running a legitimate business – a catering hall.  The building has seen better days but has a lot of potential despite being so close to La Guardia airport.  Mia is basically thrown into the deep end as she takes over several events that lead to deadly results.  Considering who her father is, he does not escape scrutiny by the police.  Clues and red herrings are peppered throughout the story and had me stumped and I did not figure out who the criminals really were in this case.

This series is going to be a lot of fun and I already like Mia’s brother Posi who is trying to go viral as a sexy convict.  It isn’t working but gotta give him an A for effort!  Mia’s grandmother and the “army” are a hoot especially when it comes to the Virgin Mary statues in their yards.  Don’t mess with their statues.  Then there is a past love with Jamie who keeps ending up as Mia’s Uber driver.  Sure he has a girlfriend, but I’m thinking that relationship might fizzle in future books.

There are some delicious recipes at the end of the book worth trying out next time I have time to experiment.

We give this book 5 paws up and look forward to the next book.

About the Author

Maria DiRico was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is a first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances. She also writes the award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series under the name Ellen Byron.

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