Jersey Shore and Murder

Victoria Rienzi takes a leave of absence from writing her wildly popular detective mysteries to work in the family restaurant Casa Lido with her grandmother. It's her plan to write a historical novel loosely based on her family. In Murder and Marinara written by Rosie Genova there's more than just marinara being cooked up.

Vicki returns to the restaurant to have her grandmother teach her to cook. Little did she know a demonstration against Gio Parisi and his Jersey Shore-like TV show would feature her Nonna and parents front and center. When the producer dies after eating lunch in the restaurant, that's when the trouble begins.

Casa Lido is closed for a few days for the police investigation to take place. Until the autopsy results are released, very few people want to eat in the restaurant. Because Vicki writes mysteries Nonna orders to investigate. Vicki knows if she hesitates, Nonna will not teach her how to cook until the murder is solved. Enlisting the computer services of her sister-in-law Sofia, Vicki begins to investigate. The scene is
further complicated by the appearance of Parisi's wife, who happens to be the woman who broke up Vicki's engagement with Tim, the current sous chef at Casa Lido.

I love the interplay between Vicki and Sofia, especially when they are trying to conceal their efforts from Sofia's police officer husband Danny. There's also a wild card character named Cal who hails from New Orleans, post Katrina, and becomes the apple of Nonna's eye.

It's a race against time to save the Casa Lido's reputation as the summer tourist season begins and a restaurant can live and die by the tourists filling its doors. 

Author Rosie Genova knows her way around Springsteen lore (a woman after my own heart),  life on the Jersey Shore and dealing with an Italian grandmother who rules the kitchen. Click here for more Jersey shore fun.