Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Penne Dreadful

November in Upstate New York is usually a beautiful time of the year, but this November Tess Esposito is mourning the death of her husband in a car accident. In Penne Dreadful by Catherine Bruns, Tessa learns from her police detective cousin Gino that her husband's death was no accident. 

Stunned by the news by the news that someone murdered her husband, Tessa is reeling from the shock. She's sure Dylan had no enemies and struggles to believe her cousin. Gino encourages her to find a job cooking so she can cope with the loss, and he points her to one of Dylan's favorite restaurants - Slice. 

Slice is also the last place Dylan was seen before he died. It's a tacky, run-down neighborhood place and Tessa is surprised Dylan loved it so much. The owner Anthony greets her with open arms, but she is met with animosity and open hostility by Anthony's nephew Vince. 

While she quietly goes making pasta sauce and pizzas at the restaurant, a couple of the delivery teens make snide comments about Dylan, implying she didn't know her husband they way they knew him. This leaves her more bewildered and determined to learn the truth about his death. She decides its time to pick up her personal belongings from the company for which he worked. 

The receptionist offers condolences but implies that Dylan did not leave the company on his own accord. She wonders what else her husband was hiding from her. 

Her search for the truth leads her to nefarious doings both at Slice and the company where Dylan worked.  And she learns some hard truths about her husband. 

A delicious mystery with the hunger-inducing scent of Italian pasta sauce. 

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