Nonna Maria has lived her entire life on the island of Ischia. She is familiar to all for her kindness, generosity, local knowledge, and ability to solve problems, particularly if they involve crimes. She is better at solving them than the carabinieri. To her, though, it is not solving crimes, it is helping friends.

There are two cases in which she is involved; the overboard drowning of a local tour guide and a recently engaged young woman who doesn’t know how she ended up betrothed.

A beguiling older woman who is known not only for her wiles in figuring out problems, but also for serving wine, her special coffee, and delicious homemade food, many of the ingredients coming from her garden.

Read this book not so much for the mysteries, which are interesting, but to savor island life and appreciate the special charm of Nonna Maria’s character.

As an aside, while I was reading this, I thought how Nonna Maria reminded me of an Italian Precious Ramotswe, of Alexander McCall’s No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, with her wisdom, knowledge of all the local goings on, and ability to solve a mystery. I would love her secret for her unparalleled coffee, of which there is much mention in the book.

As a cozy mystery, I give this five stars. I hope there will be more books featuring Nonna Maria.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #randomhouse for the DRC ( )