When Auntie Poldi finds a body in a vineyard, she sets out to solve another murder–with the Mafia nipping at her heels–in “another wine-snortingly funny entry”* in the national bestselling series. (*People Magazine) “Long may she reign.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred review) When Prosecco‑loving Auntie Poldi retired to Sicily from Germany, she never dreamed her tranquil days would be … dreamed her tranquil days would be interrupted by murder. But Sicily had other plans, and Poldi found herself honor‑bound to solve the disappearance of her beloved (and cute) handyman.
Now she’s finally ready for some peace and quiet–interrupted by romantic encounters with handsome Chief Inspector Montana, of course–when the water supply to her neighborhood is cut off and a dear friend’s dog is poisoned, telltale signs that a certain familial organization is flexing its muscles. Poldi knows there will be no resolution without her help. She soon finds a body in a vineyard, tangles with the Mafia, and yet again makes herself unpopular in the pursuit of justice. But once wine and murder mix, how could she possibly stay away?
This is a sexy and thrilling follow‑up to Mario Giordano’s debut novel, Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, hailed by Adriana Trigiani as “an explosion of color [and] a celebration of the palette of Italian life and the Sicilian experience in its specificity, warmth and drama.”
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cultural-exploration, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder-investigation, Sicily, verbal-humor, situational-humor, law-enforcement, laugh-out-loud, international-crime-and-mystery *****
More dogged than Miss Marple, more outrageous and funny than Auntie Mame, more conversant with the persona of Death than The Book Thief is our German Sicilian wonder known to her neophyte author/nephew as Auntie Poldi! She is a determined amateur sleuth, a deprived widow, friend to many, frequent nighttime companion to a Sicilian detective inspector, and wearer of impossible wigs. I snorted and chortled and laughed out loud throughout the entire book! That doesn’t diminish the murder investigation or the other relevant investigations and the convoluted path those investigations take. The locations and scenery are familiar to those of us who are addicted to the Commissario Montalbano series. There is no way I could decide whether this or the Sicilian Lions is better, only that reading the first is not necessary to enjoyment of this. But it would be fun.
John Brownjohn certainly transforms the Sicilian idioms and German storyline into a fantastically fine read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley. Thank you! !
Another good installment for this hilariously funny series.
To be honest, I don’t necessarily read these for their mysteries but rather for their delightful and colorful characters. The mystery here involves blackmail, greed and the Mafia, and as usual Poldi is racing to beat her Chief Inspector boyfriend to the denouement.
As far as the writing is concerned there is a bit much of run-ons and long-windedness, but as it is usually in aid of the humorous content, it doesn’t bother me overmuch. Wonderful descriptions of Sicily, her customs and history. I enjoyed this one.
Enjoyed reading tremendously. Very different yet fun to read.
Get your passport ready, because you’ll want to book a flight to Sicily after reading this book. Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna is easily one of the funniest books I’ve read recently. Cheers to Mario Giordano for making me laugh, and cheers also to John Brownjohn for a warm and humorous translation. Reading this book was fun. Here’s a few reasons why:
1. Auntie Poldi
She’s a name-dropper (she claims to have been buddies with Cher, among other celebrities) and a busy-body who meddles in her nephew’s attempts to write “proper literature.” She relates the tale of her investigation to her nephew in fits and starts, always maintaining her proper role as heroine, and brushes aside any of his irrelevant doubts as to its veracity.
After she solves her handyman’s murder (in the first book of the series), she becomes a local celebrity, complete with selfie requests. She makes no apologies for liking sex or wine.She’s full of life, even when she dreams/hallucinates/sees Death. (In case you’re wondering, he’s wearing a hoodie, looks ill, smell sweaty. He administers his job with the lethargy of an overworked low-level government bureaucrat. He always carries a clipboard.)
2. The Sicilian setting
When Auntie Poldi’s water goes out for three weeks, she blames the Mafia. This sounds far-fetched for those unfamiliar with Sicily. But as Giordano explains, “Whoever controls the water supply rules Sicily” (pg. 9). Cutting off the water supply to a street or region is an effective way of sending a warning to transgressors.
Giordano explains these types of juicy details in a droll and entertaining way. I learned about vineyards and forgotten lakes, friendly volcanoes and fish and festivities. Sure, I could’ve read the Wikipedia entry on Sicily and learned certain facts. But what’s Wikipedia compared with chasing killers with the half-intoxicated, never law-abiding, wholly-opinionated Auntie Poldi? Sicily bursts alive on the page.
3. The writer nephew’s ongoing writer-crisis
Anyone who’s written fiction will enjoy the running jokes about the writing life. As Auntie Poldi regales her nephew with her tale, she dispenses writerly “wisdom.” For example, Vito Montano shows Poldi a photo of the murder victim before her death.
Poldi turned the photo this way and that (…) as if this would enable her to see through Elisa’s mask and gain some idea of her backstory wound.”Because mark my words,” she told me once, “a detective must always work out what the murder victim is trying to tell them. (…) The backstory, know what I mean? You always have to know that” (pages 27-8).
Later, she tells him,
(she) was already pursuing another hypothesis. She would not, however, reveal it to me that evening.”For purely dramatic reasons, understand? Get this straight: you have to toy with your audience. They don’t want you to give away all your secrets at once. They want to be wooed and enchanted. It’s like a ballet. It’s what you might call literary precision engineering” (page. 84).
Later, she gives him a good scolding.
“It’s time you made up your mind what you’re writing: a family saga, a fantasy, a thriller, a police procedural or what? Combining them all into one doesn’t work. This Victus Tanner of yours–get rid of him, he’s unbelievable. I won’t let you put my cases through the mincer and blend them with the sausage meat of your pubescent fantasies. It’s all or nothing, understand?”
“But what about artistic license?”
“There’s got to be some art to make free with in the first place.” (page 328)
Incidentally, Auntie Poldi later brags about him to her neighbor.
“He’s a proper novelist. He’s writing an impressive family saga covering three generations. It’s going to be really juicy (…) It’s his big throw of the dice, his ticket to international bestsellerdom.” (page 334)
Ah, if only all would-be novelists had an Auntie Poldi as a beta reader, the publishing world might be a . . . Better place? Worse? Who knows? But her advice and critiques certainly hit their marks.
My conclusion
This was an enchanting, warm story. I was reminded a bit of Mme. Ramotswe from Alexander McCall-Smith’s No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I heartily recommend this book.
(This review also appears on Goodreads and my blog.)
Fun, elderly heroine!