Corpse on the Front Porch

Francesca Amaro returns home to Cape Bay, Massachusett, after the death of her mother in Harper Lin's Cappuccinos, Cupcakes and a Corpse. Returning to Antonia's Italian Cafe was never in her plans while she lived in New York, but with the death of her mother, Francesca knows there is no one else to run the cafe that has been in her family for three generations.

On a shortcut to her home from her coffee shop, Francesca discovers Mr. Cardosi, a neighbor and the father of her school friend Matt, dead on his front porch. At first she and the police think he died of natural causes, but when the autopsy shows he died from poisoning, she and Matt are bewildered by the results.
Once it is clear he was murdered Francesca and Matt search for the killer sometimes in the wrong direction, but determined as ever.

Mr. Cardosi was the owner of the local barbershop, but he was always arguing with people and he would ban customers from his shop on a regular basis. Even with his grumpiness, there did not seem to be any reason to poison him. When Francesca and Matt discover he had a girlfriend, the light of suspicion falls on her.

 I enjoyed the relationship between Francesca and Matt. Helping each other solve the murder of his father, they renewed their friendship. The mystery is solved a little too quickly I felt. Almost as if a certain number of words had been written and it was time to wrap it up. Other than that, I enjoyed the book.

The next book in the series is Tea, Tiramisu and Tough Guys. You can find it by clicking here.