I wanted to like this book, given its setting. The opening reminded me of how I felt arriving at a small Italian city. But the writing was just too tortured, trying too hard to be clever, for me. ( )

Her life in the US in shambles, 29-year-old Nell Valenti decided to accept a six-month job offer from famed chef Claudio Orlandini to help him open cooking school in Tuscany, Italy. Her enthusiasm quickly wanes when she discovers that not only is the building for the new school woefully inadequate (it had been build as a convent in 1587 and the rooms had been seriously neglected) but the chef had invited a group of local dignitaries and filmmaker to a special dinner to promote his project the next night.
Her next big shock was seeing that the filmmaker Orlandini had hired to document and promote his project was Buford Kaplan, the man she had been involved with in the US and the ending of that relationship leading to her fleeing the country. But that problem didn’t last very long. During the dinner he wandered outside where he was murdered.
That event made her job even more complicated. First, she worried that the notoriety might kill the chances of that school even opening and her job may be over before it has really begun. And, possibly more important, Orlandini disappeared and became the first of several suspects.
Despite her despite her lack of ability to speak Italian, Nell quickly became a lead investigator.
As the title implies, AL DENTE’S INFERNO provides very witty dialogue. It also offers wonderful descriptions of locations and characters. Examples:
“Overhead a Plexiglas awning was cloudy with age, and the clock mounted high on the brick wall, which is missing its minute hand, said it was noon. Maybe the guidebooks were right: In beautiful Tuscany, time stops”.
“Mi chiamo Nell Valenti. I gave myself a B+ for inflection in Italian, every phrase needs to sound as though you’re announcing the week’s Powerball winner.”.
Description of Tuscan light: “It was original light, when everything quietly shown. Not in a harsh brightness, but in the simple clarity. Almost as if each tree and creature and rock was a source of light itself. The forks fire, smog, imperfect lanterns, and evil.”
“Rituals can be a kind of default behavior when we don’t know what else to do.”
Description of the Countess closing her suitcase: “Still raging, she attempted to close her overstuffed Louie Vuitton suitcase by slamming the halves together like she was a cymbalist who had failed anger management.”
The book includes a recipe for Peperoni al Forno Ripieni di Ricotta (Baked Peppers Stuffed with Ricotta).
Stephanie Cole’s writing is reminiscent of Shelley Costa, another cozy mystery author, whose stories also have an Italian theme.
Well-written, great descriptions, interesting characters, witty. ( )

Al Dente’s Inferno by Stephanie Cole is the beginning of A Tuscan Cooking School Mystery series. I enjoyed the word imagery of the Tuscan countryside and the dilapidated Orlandini villa. I had to laugh when Nell found mold and a critter in the public rooms. Nell thought she was just upgrading a farm-to-table cooking school. Instead, it seems she is starting from scratch. Unfortunately, the launch dinner for the local dignitaries is the next evening. Then someone kills the filmmaker which could put the kibosh on the cooking school before it opens. While I enjoyed the Italian setting, I was not a fan of the multiple Italian words and phrases in the story. Some of them are explained, but many of them are not. I quickly tired of them as it disrupted the flow of the story plus I had no clue what they meant (unless I used the translation feature on my e-book). The clichés were another annoyance (way too many). I believe they were meant to be humorous. There are some interesting characters in the story, but I found background information to be lacking. I thought Al Dente’s Inferno was a slow starter. The murder does not occur until you are a third of the way into the story (way too late). If you are a frequent reader of cozy mysteries, you will have already identified the killer by the time the dufus (i.e. the filmmaker and Nell’s ex-boyfriend) turns up dead. There are good clues to aid readers in solving the crime and I liked Nell’s approach to the investigation. It was straightforward with a Jessica Fletcher type reveal at the end. I liked that most of the focus of Al Dente’s Inferno was on cooking and the whodunit. I did not like when it delved into a new romantic interest for Nell. Considering her recent breakup and taste in men, Nell needs to wait before diving into a new romantic relationship (she needs to keep her focus on the school). I did enjoy Nell’s snarky comments. Al Dente’s Inferno could have used a little more work before it was published (in my personal opinion). Al Dente’s Inferno has a crumbling cloister, a pesky porcupine, a curious conveyance, mouthwatering meals, and a frustrating filmmaker. ( )