Alberta Scaglione thinks her cooking is better than anyone’s in Tranquility, New Jersey—but she doesn’t mind an occasional visit to Veronica’s Diner. Too bad today’s special is murder . . . During the breakfast rush, waitress Teri Jo seems stressed out. Not surprising on a busy morning, though Alberta, her sister Helen, and her granddaughter Jinx find it odd when Teri Jo asks them to deliver a … find it odd when Teri Jo asks them to deliver a package for her “just in case.”
Minutes later, Teri Jo rushes back to their table—not with a check in her hand but with a knife in her back. Veronica is upset but says she knows virtually nothing about her employee’s past, and the ladies aren’t sure whether to view her with sympathy or suspicion. Then they find an unusual figurine on the ground while snooping in the vicinity, and it becomes clear that this is a case for the Ferrara Family. With such a crowd at the crime scene, there are plenty of potential murderers on the menu, and the Ferraras will travel everywhere to figure out exactly where that figurine fits in . . .
Includes Italian recipes from Alberta’s kitchen!
Praise for Murder at Tranquility Park
“Imagine the Golden Girls starting a detective agency and you’ll get the general idea of J.D. Griffo’s charming Ferrara Family mystery series.”
—Criminal Element
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This book is just plain fun. I love when a cozy can make me laugh. There are delightful characters and I enjoyed the setting. The only problem…. it made me hungry.
Granted, this cozy is about 68 pages longer than the average cozy, but I don’t think that why I thought it would never end. On the plus side, the author packs in plenty of detail, on the negative side, it makes the story drag even though a lot of it is about the suspects and mystery.
This is the first book I’ve read in the series, so I am not completely wrapped up in the Ferrara world. There’s enough backstory provided I understand how the ladies work as a team so I wasn’t feeling lost. I just didn’t care about any of them, the various components the author brought in could have been intriguing, but with all the other elements was just too much.
Other things like the police chief #1 doing active on scene investigating #2 telling the Ferrara team to get cracking at solving the case (!!) were very unrealistic, even if Alberta was his childhood babysitter.
I understand why the author dropped Italian in here and there, but it, also, was too much. Some of it wasn’t translated either. I have a degree in Spanish which required 2 years of Italian, so I’m better off than most of the readers probably, but it was too much having it at the top of every chapter and in the text. Too much food talk as well.
I have the next book in the series and will give it a try in case this is a one off miss for me.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Great characters. Enjoyed the story.
J.D. Griffo is a talented writer. In his latest addition to the “Ferrara Family Mystery” series, Murder at Veronica’s Diner, his talent shines through. The characters are filled with charm, loud voices, and Italian family nuances you don’t get unless you are a member of the group.
This story revolves around the murder of a waitress, Teri Jo, in a crowded diner. Yet none of the diner patrons saw the murder take place or the killer. It seems almost impossible that no one saw anything, including Alberta and crew. This group of older ladies and Alberta’s young granddaughter are just as shocked as everyone else. The police have no clues, and the Ferrara family dives in to uncover a killer.
The characters in this story are easy to like. But at times, it can be difficult to tell who is who. If readers have not read any of the other additions to this series, they will be confused. I suggest that you don’t start this series with this book. To understand the characters and keep them straight, readers need to go back and start from the beginning. This book shows how a real family interacts with love, humor, and food. It’s filled with interesting tidbits, including the headlines for each chapter in Italian.
There is plenty of action in Murder at Veronica’s Diner; readers are taken on an adventure throughout the story. The evidence of the killer’s identity is sprinkled throughout, but this story isn’t so much about who the killer is, as this is obvious from the beginning, but it is more about what the motive is and who all is involved. Of course, in the end, Alberta, Helen, Joyce, and Jinx figure everything out and capture the murderer. My only complaint about this book was that solving the killer’s identity took all of ten minutes. I enjoyed the overall feel of this intriguing Italian family, their escapades, and I highly recommend the series and the recipes in the back.
Murder at Veronica’s Diner is the fourth in the Ferrara Family Mystery series. This is the first one I have read but was able to get current quickly..
This is a easy to read Cozy with likeable characters, a great setting, romance, family, and humor. There are plenty twists and turns that have you guessing to the end.
Warning, you may start craving diner food.
I was given an ARC by the Kensington and NetGalley for an honest review.
I fell for this delightful series with the first book – Murder on Memory Lake. Meeting Alberta, her sister Helen (an ex-nun) Joyce, her sister-in-law and Alberta’s granddaughter, Jinx. These ladies are a force to be reckoned with. Alberta, Helen and Joyce are of a certain age (seniors) and Jinx is in her twenties. Together they make up the Ferrara Family Detective Agency and the chemistry between them is perfect and very funny.
Here we are with book four and the family is out for breakfast at Veronica’s Diner. Alberta is a bit unsettled by a dream the previous night and her sister Helen is trying to find out what’s bugging her. Before she can uncover the facts Joyce and Jinx arrive and breakfast conversation gets underway. Alberta ordered Eggs Benedict for all of them but little did they imagine that a side of homicide was included. Their waitress collapses at their table with a butcher knife in her back. The Ferrara Family Detective Agency has a new case. Before she was murdered, their waitress, Teri Jo, gave them a package and said she didn’t have time to run this errand and would they do it for her. Now they have plenty of reasons to investigate. It was clear to Alberta that Teri Jo was afraid of something. Enough to get her killed.
The book can be read as a stand alone as the background is explained without being too much information dragging the story down. Each of the ladies is a well developed character and
their interactions are very believable. The mystery is solid with several red herrings and the author plays fair with the clues. Still, I guessed wrong. Full of family warmth and a lot of humor, this is an Italian family I would love to know. I already have book five on my TBR list. Murder at St. Winifred’s Academy will be published May 25, 2021.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book has a great story line. One where one family sticks together and then another interesting family. I love the make up of our crime solving family, Helen, Alberta, Joyce and Jinx. They lead the pack to get the job done. They have more nerve than I do. I love the way they work together. I’m not sure that I didn’t gain weight just reading about all the good Italian food that was cooked in this book. Some of the recipes are even included for you. Hmm, wonder where Sloan and Freddy will fit in in our next visit to Tranquility. I can’t wait to find out. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
This has been one of my favorites series from the start! The author described the series as The Golden Girls meet Murder, She Wrote and that’s spot on. This series is witty and enjoyable from start to finish and this latest installment is true to form. You’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry and you’ll keep turning pages to find “who did it”. A highly entertaining cozy mystery read!
Another fun book in this series. The Ferrara family are on the case again when Alberta and some of the other family members go to a diner to have breakfast. When a waitress gets killed and a figurine turns up at the crime scene what’s a family to do but solve the crime! Plenty of interesting places are visited in this story fun and fast moving with great characters. Enjoyed reading it looking forward to more from this series.
family-dynamics, women-sleuths, small-business, small-town, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement
The Ferrara lady sleuths are very Sicilian Catholic older widow Alberta and her granddaughter Jinx (a reporter for the local paper), Alberta’s ex-nun sister Helen, and former sister in law (and former Wall Street executive) Joyce. They’re also known as “Senior Scooby Gang” by their friend, the local police chief in their small town in New Jersey. The first body is that of the best waitress at the local diner who dies in front of everyone with a butcher knife in her back and no apparent suspects. They first look for some answers to Veronica, who owns the diner only to first suspect, then know that she is lying about a number of things. Great sleuthing with Red Herrings, plot twists, and lots of humor!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!