Secret Societies and Missing Bodies

When I read the first installment of the Italian Restaurant mysteries You Cannoli Die Once, by Shelley Costa, I thought I'd enjoy the next book Basil Instinct, which is set in Quaker Hills, Pennsylvania. That was not the case. In the first book the plot was much more believable and made sense at the end.

In Basil Instinct, the disappearing body and all the members of the family who had a hand it was too slapstick for me. I never felt comfortable seeing the victim shunted into the walk-in freezer, into the back seat of a car and then dumped back into the restaurant. It just made no sense - really don't the characters think the police will notice a body has been moved several tines.

The blue evening gown-clad, all-women secret chef society was
interesting and made the book entertaining, but the missing body and the way the book resolved the murder was totally unbelievable and quite frankly, the height of arrogance. Too bad because Eve and 

her family are such fun to be around. I'd love to visit their restaurant. For more books by Shelley Costa, click here