If you're looking for what I'd describe as a cute, almost-cozy murder mystery with some quirky characters, you might want to give this one a try. Where else will you find a borderline elderly retired costume designer with a nose for adventure who's moved to Sicily for the sole purpose - at least initially - of drinking herself to death?
Meet Auntie Poldi, officially Isolde Oberreider. Despite her penchant for wearing askew wigs, she considers herself to be attractive to the opposite sex and moved to a new country after her husband died - finding a rather unkempt house overlooking the sea not far from her sisters. Narrating the whole thing is Poldi's nephew, a would-be writer in the throes of writer's block who's hoping, I suppose, that documenting his aunt's adventures will kick-start his creative juices.
And find adventure she does. After a young man to whom she took a fancy turns up dead on a beach, she turns into an almost frenzied amateur investigator (much to the dismay of local authorities, in particular hunky detective Vito Montana). Once she gets going, a missing sculptured lion comes into play as she tries to connect the dots to a wealthy landowner she suspects may be up to nefarious activities.
Her adventures and attempts at solving the murder are documented in fine fashion - sometimes with a bit of humor - right up to the end. Admittedly, while I do love headstrong women, she proved to lean a little more in that direction than I'd like to meet in person; still, there's no getting around the appeal of her rather off-the-wall character. The ending suggests that more installments will come in the future (and notably, this is the author's first book to be translated into English).
In the interests of full disclosure, I won an advance copy of this book (in paperback format) at Bookish First in exchange for an honest review.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 2018); 352 pp.
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