After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . . Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the … parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and a deadly surprise is revealed . . .
Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . .
Italian recipes included!
“Mamma mia! What a nifty story. This endearing new heroine has a lot on her plate—all of it delicious fun!”
—Laura Levine, author of Death of a Gigolo
“A catered feast of a mystery.”
—Sherry Harris, author of Let’s Fake a Deal
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I absolutely loved this book the characters were great! The setting was brilliant! I loved the Suspense part of the book. I love how this all turn out. This is the 1st in a new series I’m looking forward to the next one I highly recommend reading it.
I enjoyed this first in the series. Mia is helping her former mobster dad run a legitimate catering hall business, however when a body is found and eyes turn towards her father Mia decides that she needs to step in and help find answers.
I love these characters, Mia is strong and reliable, the side characters range in personalities which makes this a fun read. The mystery was good and kept me guessing and leads you nicely along with Mia to find the answers. I will continue on with this series.
There is the added bonus of some great sounding recipes in the back.
A great new series!
Such a fun premise for a new series. Truly enjoyed the story. Mia is a winning protagonist. Ellen has a great sense of humor!
Mia Carina is my new favorite cozy mystery heroine. More please! I want more!
A missing and presumed dead husband. No longer a suspect in his disappearance, Mia Carina leaves the bad memories in Florida and moves back home to New York, where she settles in Queens. She is going to help her father, who may or may not be in the mob, run Bella Vista, a catering and event hall. When a bachelor party goes wrong,and a dead body is found, Mia is worried that suspicion will fall on her father. She decides to do some investigating on her own. I love all the characters! Colorful and quirky! It’s a very well written mystery that kept me guessing. This is the first book in a new series and i can’t wait to read the next one! Some delicious recipes are also included. I definitely recommend this book!
This was a fun new series with a delightful mix of Italian ethnicity, Queens residents, and the mob. The characters are interesting and the storyline was intriguing. Mia comes back home to Astoria in Queens after her cheating husband is presumed dead. She partners with her father, who has connections to the mob and some questionable businesses in the past, in a catering hall business. The night of their first events, a woman is found dead and Mia’s father is the prime suspect. Mia is determined to figure out who is behind the murder and does her best to clear her father. Lots of interesting events and kept me wanting more. I am really looking forward to more books in this series and hopefully one day seeing Mia and Jamie in a relationship. Can’t wait for more of Mia’s father, grandmother, and brother as well!
Meet Mia Carina. She’s just moved from Palm Beach, Florida to Queens, New York, to help her father manage the Belle View Banquet Manor. During Mia’s first managed event, a bachelor party, things take a dramatic turn when a woman who threatened Mia’s father hours before turns up dead in the pop-out cake intended for a stripper. When Mia’s father becomes the prime suspect, Mia decides to investigate to clear his name.
So begins Here Comes the Body, the first installment in the Catering Hall Mysteries by Maria DiRico. Mia is an extremely delightful protagonist. She’s smart, street-wise and caring – and not above using her father’s status as a mobster trying to go straight as leverage when needed. Author DiRico has surrounded Mia with a wonderful cast of characters including the aforementioned former mobster father; her grandmother Elisabetta, and Jamie, the son of Mia’s father’s boss and her old high school flame. Each character contributes in their own way to the story and all manage to memorable without being a stereotype. There are several funny and heartwarming scenes between Mia and other characters that serve as great world-building and give the book the sense of extended family that is so delightful.
Frequently in the first installment of a new series, more time is given to the setup, and it seems as though the mystery is shortchanged. In this book, equal weight is given to the story and the series setup, to a point that I never felt that one overshadowed the other. Speaking of the mystery, it was a multi layered one, with lots of red herrings. I had an idea who the killer was, but when the reveal came, the reason surprised me. Outside of that, Maria DiRico delivered a satisfying ending and yet left plenty of room for growth in future installments. I am really really looking forward to the next Mia Carina mystery.
The only problem I found with this book was that it ended. All of a sudden, I was at the end and upset that I didn’t have the next book ready to read. What a fun story! Loved everything about it. The characters were awesome. Funny older ladies. Lots of food talk. Great mystery. Didn’t see that killer coming. Fun twists. Growing up in Queens, I could really relate to all of it. Definitely a new favorite of mine.
I didn’t like all the mob storyline. Didn’t finish the book
Mia with her mob family and Italian grandma is just the medicine I needed during this crazy time. I laughed so often my husband had to ask what I was reading. The look on his face when I said a cozy mystery. He knows enough about cozy mysteries to know murders occur. He may be worried about me laughing at murder. I will correct him one day that I wasn’t laughing at murder. One day…
This was a great start to a new series. I almost did not request from NetGalley until a read a review from another reviewer and he raved about the book. If you need laughs but still want to read your cozies then this is the book for you. Mia’s grandma is a doll. I want to dive into the book and sample her cooking.
A bonus: recipes provided in the back. Not all Italian either there are some yummy Greek ones as well. If I have the ingredients I might be trying a few.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
FUN READ!
This is a delightfully entertaining debut novel of a new series by Maria DiRico (pen name of Ellen Byron)! It’s a story about Mia Carina moving back to help her family & realizing that the FAMILY is something you never really leave. Her Dad is doing his best to stay on the straight & narrow at a catering hall known as Belle View. Maria quickly discovers there’s more to running a catering hall than dealing with Bridezillas, finding the perfect matching “natural” hue of flowers, overcoming being in the flight path of LaGuardia & having using a ride share driven by her old boyfriend that she should have married. All of that is really quite normal stuff until the night of the Worst Bachelor Party Ever. That’s when murder, mayhem & madness breakout! Will Maria be able to find any clues to the this mystery? Will her Dad be implicated? Will he have to call in favors from the Family or is the Family somehow involved? Very clever debut novel!! I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Kensington Books & NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.
This first-in-series was a well-written, entertaining mystery with just the right amount of humor. Protagonist Mia and her family and coworkers are realistic and fun to read about. She’s compelled to investigate a murder when her dad, Ravello, is a suspect with ties to the victim and former ties to the mob. The mystery wasn’t easy for me to solve, though I enjoyed suspecting nearly everyone at some point. The story moves at a good pace and I didn’t find any tedious or boring spots anywhere.
I’m loving this new series by Maria DiRico aka Ellen Byron! Looking forward to many more books in this series!
I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
I didn’t want this book to end! Mia Carina, daughter of Ravello Carina, a “Family” man, has moved back to Queens under somewhat of a cloud since her husband is missing and presumed dead. She has been cleared of suspicion, but can never be truly free of it until his body is found. Mia is all about family, has a heart of gold, but is feisty too. I loved her as well as her Dad, her Grandmother “Little Mussolini,” Jamie, and her co-workers especially Evans. He is very intriguing and I can’t wait to see what the Evans character does in future books. The mystery came together and was well thought out. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico is a story about an Italian mobster trying to have a legit business with his daughter.
Can this Italian mobster’s daughter get Belle View Catering Manor to be successful?
Mia Carina
Messina Carina know to everyone as Mia, is the youngest daughter of a mobster for the Italian mob, and may have an actual Godfather as her godfather. Mia came home from Flordia when her husband seemed to have disappeared, and no one can find the body. Instead of thinking that it was her dad’s connection to the Family, she just came home to help her dad finally become a legitimate businessman. But that has it downfalls as the Belle View Catering Manor has had a string of bad things happening.
What I like about Mia is that she tells people as she sees it, and she can see through people’s BS. Another thing that I like about Mia is that despite everything that stacked against her father, she still knew in her heart that he didn’t kill anyone.
The Mystery
Mia and her staff found a dead body in the cake that was supposed to house the stripper for a bachelor party. Instead of the stripper, they found the woman that was making accusations that her dad slept with her. Let’s just say that Mia has her hands full trying to solve that crime, get a reporter off her dad’s back, and get a certain detective that has the hots for her best friend actually to do his job.
Five Stars
I think that Ms. DiRico has an excellent new series on her hands with this book. I loved reading it a lot. The whole mob connection had me laughing. I also liked that Mia translated some words in Italian or whatever language it was in. Either by her translating it or them saying what they meant in the next sentence again helped a lot. Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico gets a five-star rating and a recommendation to everyone that loves cozy mysteries that has recipes in it.
Speaking of which, don’t forget to check out the delicious recipes in the back of the book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
HERE COMES THE BODY by Maria DiRico
The First Catering Hall Mystery
When her cheating husband goes missing, Mia Carina becomes a person of interest, partly because she’s the aggrieved wife and even more so because of her mob connections. Once out from under suspicion this Queens girl leaves Florida and returns home to Astoria and her Family. While Belle View Catering Hall is under the auspices of the Boldano Family, her father is running it as a legitimate business and Mia aims to help him keep it that way. But when a dead body turns up during a bachelor party, police immediately suspect Ravello. Mia will have to use her street smarts and Family connections to keep the business afloat and prove her dad’s innocence.
I’m not sure what it is about the mob that’s so fascinating, but its appeal can’t be denied. I absolutely love this book! Mia is a fantastic protagonist, she’s tough and no nonsense, but also shows a vulnerability. One of my favorite things about the book is the Astoria neighborhood. Mia’s nonna and her army of aging residents are a delight from their holiday decor one-upmanship, “traditional” furnishings (plastic slipcovers, anyone?), and food, plenty of home cooked food, be it Italian or Greek. Mia’s brother is also a hoot, trying to be a viral hot con, while doing another prison stint. Add her father’s soft side and his intimidating boss, and you have a Family to die for.
From wacky characters with heart, villains you love to hate, and comedic touches to keep you laughing HERE COMES THE BODY is the crème de la crème of cozy mysteries.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
I enjoyed this story. It had a little different story line with the mob involved. How cool is that? I don’t know if I would want to be well known by prison guards but it was interesting and gives you a different aspect as what general opinion might be. I do like stories with great family dynamic. I love Mia, Ravello, and Elisabetta. Elisabetta and friends, what fun they would be to hang out with! What a fun place Belle View could be to work at. I don’t think it would ever be boring, as you can see from this story. I hope I can hang with Mia and friends and family again. Oh, there are also some yummy recipes included. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
This first book in a new series by Maria DiRico, who also writes as Ellen Byron, is off to a wonderful start. Mia Carrina, the protagonist, has returned home to Queens, NY, leaving her past behind as a person of interest in the disappearance of her two-timing husband. Mia is looking forward to working with her father, Ravello, Manager of the Bell View Banquet Manor as an Event Coordinator. Proud that her father has chosen to leave behind his ties with the “Family” and make a go as a respectable business manager, Mia gets behind him 100 percent, until a murder happens at the banquet hall casting suspicion on her father. Knowing her father was not responsible, Mia sets out to clear her father’s name and save the banquet hall from closure.
This delightful story featuring a catering hall is a new take in the cozy genre. Ms. DiRico draws upon her Italian roots to write wonderful characters that are vaguely reminiscent of various family members. As we are introduced to several characters of Mia’s family and friends, we are given a glimpse of future stories for this series. There are enough suspects to keep you guessing, with twists and turns to unravel like a plate of pasta, laugh out loud moments and suspenseful ending. Add in a couple bonus recipes at the end, and This entertaining series will have you coming back for a second helping. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I received this advanced reader’s copy book from GoodReads, Kensington Books, and Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #kensington #goodreads #cozymystery #bookreviews #lovecozies
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Readers are introduced to Mia Carina and her family. She has come home to Queens after her being cleared in her husband’s suspicious death with her cat lovingly named Doorstop. They have moved into her Nonna’s upper apartment. She will be working with her father, former mob enforcer, Ravello Carina, at a business he recently acquired. Belle View is a hot spot for weddings, bachelor parties, and family reunions. Even local support groups meet there.
Mia’s first event is a bachelor party complete with a stripper popping out of a cake. But the woman inside the cake does not “pop” as planned, in fact, the woman inside the cake is not the woman hired for the party but someone who accused Ravello of not paying his debt to her the day before and she won’t be “popping” anywhere. Someone left her dead body along with a check for a million dollars signed by Ravello inside the cake.
The police think the case is a slam-dunk but Mia is determined to prove her dad’s innocence. When a second body is found behind Belle View Mia knows she has to pull out all the stops to keep her dad safe and the business running, even if she needs to reach out to her extended “family”.
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The underlying theme of this series is the mob and its connections to Mia’s family. I thought this may be too heavy of a topic for a cozy mystery but Maria DiRico makes it work with a light tone and a lot of humor, although some of the innuendo does tip over the line just a bit.
The author brings us an Italian family with connections. Mia, glad to be home but not totally sure if her New York family took care of her creep of a husband, Adam Grosso, or not. She was cleared to leave Florida and she did. Working for her father isn’t going to be easy, not because of the mob, but because of the over the top clients and their loony requests. Mia showed more patience than I ever could. She comes up with some great ideas too.
Moving in with her grandmother Elisabetta feels right even though most of her furniture looks like it came from a bordello. Her dad has spent enough time behind bars and promises the Belle View is a legit business. Mia’s brother Posi, is still behind bars but is able to give her some advice as she investigates. She reconnects with her old friend Jamie and old feelings start to immerge until she learns he has a girlfriend. Jaime’s dad is high up in the “organization” though and she just may need his help.
Being the first book in a new series, we get to know the main characters pretty well, but there is a lot of room for growth. My favorite being Nonna Elisabetta. A true Italian believing food can solve any problem. She makes sure Mia is always well fed. She had me grinning ear to ear.
I was captivated by Mia and Jamie’s relationship and am looking forward to how it develops. Will, there be a real romance or will they commit to the “friend zone”? Jamie does remind me a little bit of my son, same name, different spelling
Mia is a smart sleuth. It was fun to tag along with her as she dealt with twist after twist. Sometimes the debut book in a series has a less complex mystery to solve while taking time to fully introduce the cast of characters. That is not the case here at all. The mystery was complex. Every time I thought I had everything all figured out there was a twist that proved me wrong.
The subplots were blended wonderfully into the story. I really appreciated Mia’s huge heart as she dealt with a real estate predator. Nonna’s neighborhood sounded delightful and close-knit and the realtor was really ticking off both me and Mia. Some of Mia’s comebacks were just priceless. The author descriptions of the area painted clear pictures of the homes, right down to the sculptures in the yards and their holiday decorations.
Here Comes the Body has this series off to a fine start. The characters are memorable and feel very true to life. The mystery was well-plotted and interesting with a large dose of humor. There are also some yummy sounding Italian recipes at the back of the book. It truly was an enjoyable getaway!
It is an honor to review Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico because reading it was pure pleasure. Mystery, humor, character depth, and vivid setting are all woven together in this story which flows evenly across the page. DiRico is actually the author of a Cajun mystery series under the name of Ellen Byron, which I also enjoy, so I was eager to read her new catering hall series. I was caught up from the first page and, although eager to see how things resolved, enjoyed the characters so much that I hated to reach the conclusion.
Mia leaves Florida and its unpleasant baggage behind, returning to her Queens neighborhood to help run her father’s catering business. Mystery surrounds her, both past and present … suspicion remains because her husband’s body was never found, and now her father is a person of interest in the murder of a stripper at a bachelor party. There’s humor, an adorable cat (appropriately named Doorstop), and even an emotional tug over the loss of her beloved parakeet while traveling home, Pizzazz. The Queens setting is vividly conveyed and has an authentic feel, becoming a key part of the story.
One strength of this story is Mia’s endearing, quirky family, who provide interesting secondary themes. Her father may be running a legit business, but their mob connections still come in handy at times. There’s visits with Mia’s brother, Posi, in a minimum-security prison. But best of all is Mia’s grandmother, Elisabetta. I loved Elisabetta and her “Army” of 80-something friends in the Queens neighborhood, who are slowly beginning to sell out as an unscrupulous real estate agent uses her wiles to convince them they no longer need to live alone.
The mystery itself is skillfully interwoven amidst these themes and delightful Queens setting, reminding us that there is much more to NYC than Manhattan. Here Comes the Body reaches a very satisfying conclusion and I hope for many more stories in this new series. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.