There’s only one Auntie Poldi: bewigged, cursing in Bavarian, and knocking back a wee shot of grappa as a pre-breakfast aperitif . . . or is there? No one is as they seem (and sound) in this hilarious new mystery featuring Sicily’s sultriest sleuth. Strange dealings are afoot in the Apostolic Palace–a nun leapt to her death shortly after participating in a seemingly routine exorcism. But when … exorcism. But when a priest clad in Gammarelli and a Vatican commissario with an almost unholy level of sex appeal turn up at her door, Poldi is shocked to hear that she’s a suspect in their case.
Who is the woman being exorcised, and where has she disappeared to? And why in the world does she claim, in perfect Bavarian, to be Poldi, Isolde Oberreiter, of Torre Archirafi?
Poldi will need all the help she can get to clear her name, but her nephew has been distracted by a love affair gone sour, someone in the town has been spraying graffiti death threats on her front door, and her local friends seem to be avoiding her. And even Vito Montana balks when Poldi discovers that the case hinges on a lost Madonna statue, stolen years ago from the pope himself.
Forza, Poldi! With a pair of mysterious twins dogging her every move and a mandate to maintain sobriety, will Poldi be able to find the lost statue in time, and survive her sixty-first birthday?
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amateur-sleuth, cultural-exploration, international-crime-and-mystery, laugh-out-loud, law-enforcement, farce, Sicily, situational-humor, verbal-humor*****
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books via NetGalley.
I couldn’t listen to AI reader in the format sent, but I have absolutely loved the earlier ones. So I guess that I will have to wait until it is published in audio so I can give a current review, but I expect it to be just as much fun!
That was in December, 2020, and now it’s May, 2021 and I have bought and listened to the audio format! This one is even more hilarious than each of the others! The beleaguered nephew is definitely about to lose his mind over her antics, Poldi has bargaining sessions with Death, and she even admits to personally knowing the Pope while breaking into the Vatican! Laugh your sox off!
Many thanks to John Brownjohn for his fun translation and to Matt Addis for his delightful voice artistry with the narration.
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt & NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
This was the first Auntie Poldi mystery I tried, and what a disappointment. Reading all the positive reviews of the earlier books in the series including this newest one, I was surprised to find I just couldn’t read this book. I made a sincere effort, but after the intro and first chapter, I knew I was wasting my time with the combination of silly characters and crude humor. While I couldn’t connect with Auntie Poldi (though I sympathized with her nephew), what really repulsed me was the author’s characterization of Auntie Poldi. He created a parody of a sixty-year-old single woman that was insulting and sexist. The character and the humor were reminiscent of the Pink Panther film series from the 1960s. Perhaps part of the problem is that this is written by a German man and translated by a British man. If you’re looking for bawdy humor and a silly mystery with an outrageous senior female sleuth that takes place in Italy, this could be for you. But I can’t recommend it.
Fourth in series and at 61 Auntie Poldi is still going strong, both with her love life and in tracking down the bad guys.
As irreverent and hilarious as ever, this adventure has her breaking into the Vatican and meeting and taking on a case for the pope himself. There are murders, a secret sinister society, a missing religious relic, break ups, sexy times, visits from the Grim Reaper, and a very big surprise twist.
As wonderful as always.
Much thanks to #NetGalley and #MarinerBooks for providing me the early ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
*********************Coming May 18, 2021*************************
Auntie Poldi and the Lost Madonna is the fourth book in this series detailing the antics of said aunt and her nephew. The action takes place in Sicily and Rome involving exorcism, the Pope, a secret society, murder, and much mayhem. Though the story is a bit fantastical, the humor and hilarity keep the pace fast and the mystery enjoyable. This is the first of this series that I have read, and I wish I had started at the beginning to get a better grip on the characters—however—I still enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Net Galley for an ARC of Auntie Poldi and the Lost Madonna. Review opinions expressed are my own, I always review books I enjoy–so that others may find them, too.