When her twin sister asks for help drumming up interest in her newest real estate listing—a mothballed old mansion that was once a Prohibition-era speakeasy and FDR hangout—Rita readily agrees. Planning an over-the-top Jazz Age-themed soirée, she dusts off her vintage recipes for lemon cake and oysters Rockefeller, casts her son Vinnie and his best friend Rocco as the G-men who will stage a … “raid,” and even enlists the culinary services of Rocco’s mom, the beautiful but troubled Fran, who has just been released from prison.
But when Vinnie and Rocco stage their “raid”, what they find in the old dairy barn behind the mansion isn’t moonshine…but a dead body.
The citizens of Acorn Hollow are eager to point the finger at Rocco and Fran, but Rita isn’t buying it. Like the multi-tasking mother she is, she’s determined to prove their innocence—all while mentoring a sulky teenaged intern, unmasking the identity of the newspaper’s new male advice columnist, and encouraging her daughter’s fledgling romance with a hunky teacher.
Featuring mouth-watering recipes for Italian classics, including bruschetta and tiramisu!
more
This entertaining series continues to get better with engaging characters and a well-executed mystery that I couldn’t put down because I had to know what was going to happen. I really like Rita Calabrese and enjoy her dynamic with the citizens of Acorn Hollow and her tenacity to find out who killed the drug dealer when everyone is pointing a finger at her son’s best friend and his mother. The suspects, intrigue, twists and turns really enhanced my reading pleasure and I love the bonus of delicious Italian recipes! I received an advance reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review. I liked it so much I purchased a copy for my Kindle.
This is the first book that I have read by Maureen Klovers and I enjoyed it immensely. I loved the characters and how Rita switches from English to Italian throughout the book. Rita is from a small town and is a reporter for the local newspaper. She has numerous sources in town, especially an old widow that can be found in the cemetery each day reading the newspaper to her dead husbands. The mansion and it’s hidden room were intriguing as was the mystery. And the addition of the recipes and the historical note at the end were a nice touch. I can’t wait to go back and read the first two books in this series as well as the other books that Ms. Klovers has written.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Cozy Mystery Review Crew. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Murder in the Moonshine (Rita Calabrese Mysteries Book 3) is the first book that I have read in this series and it definitely won’t be the last. Rita, the mother of three grown children and wife of Sal, is a reporter for her small-town newspaper with a knack for a story. She knows just about everyone in her small town and consequently has many sources for her stories. My favorite source of hers in this book was an octogenarian widow who goes to the cemetery daily to read the newspaper to her late husbands (yes, husbands!). Like Rita and the widow, the characters in this book are richly drawn, and there is no shortage of suspects in the murder mystery that kept me guessing until it was solved.
I liked all of the Italian touches in Murder in the Moonshine — family, food and language, and it was great to have some delicious recipes included at the end. This book is an enjoyable read, and while it is the third in the series, it can definitely stand on its own.
We are going to Acorn Hollow area to attend
a soirée!!!
Rita Calabrese is a wife, mother, investigative
reporter for the Morris County Gazette who
loves to cook Italian. She grows her own
vegetables in her garden. The readers mouth
will water with all the delicious foods mentioned
throughout the story.
Rita comes up with an idea to help her twin
sister sell an old, dilapidated mansion. This
mansion use to a Prohibition era speakeasy.
It is said the FDR use to hang there. So the
Sister will sponsor a Jazz Age party. Rita will
make food from that era. She will have her
son and his best friend stage a raid then break
up a supposed still in the barn.
To help cater the party Rita has brought her
son’s best friend mother on board. His mother
has just been released from prison and this job
will help her get back into the community.
The road goes off then the men proceed to the
barn to raid the supposed still. Instead they
find a dead body in the dairy barn.
The dead body belongs to the local drug dealer.
Who wanted him dead???
An interesting array of well created, colorful and
vivid characters. The story is fast paced and
the murder mystery kept you guessing especially
after the confession of one character that Rita
decided was innocent.
Rita is also trying to figure out who the person is
writing the new column “The Dude” while being
a mentor for the teenage columnist.
A fun read plotted to keep the reader on their toes.
A delicious read with recipes included at the end.
This is book # 3 in the Rita Calabrese Mysteries
series. It can be read as a stand alone.
This is the first book I have read in the series but
will be reading more as this one was so enjoyable.
I volunteered to read Murder in the Moonshine.
Thanks to the author and publisher via the Cozy
Mystery Review Crew. My opinion is voluntary
and my own.
I love Rita Calabrese! Acorn Hollow’s favorite reporter returns in Murder in the Moonshine, and her newest mystery is just as wonderfully written as the first two in the series -The Secret Poison Garden and A Secret in Thyme. Rita’s realtor sister, Rose, is having trouble selling an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town, and once Rita learns the history of the house she devises a plan to help, but unfortunately the raging Prohibition themed party she stages ends in murder! With assistance from her pals ranging in age from 16 (teen reporter Ana) to who-knows-how-old (The Widow Schmalzgruben), Rita is on the case! With twists and turns throughout and lots of suspects, author Maureen Klovers’ Murder in the Moonshine was an absolute joy to read! A+++