Auntie Poldi And The Vineyards of Etna: A Novel

Mario Giordano

Mar 2019 · The Auntie Poldi Adventures Book 2 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

Amateur sleuth Auntie Poldi finds a body in a vineyard—with the Mafia nipping at her heels—in “another wine-snortingly funny entry” (People) in this national-bestselling series.

When Prosecco-loving Auntie Poldi retired to Sicily from Germany, she never 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 the sexy and thrilling follow-up to the first novel in this series, 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.”

Ratings and reviews

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! !

About the author

MARIO GIORDANO, the son of Italian immigrants, was born in Munich. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, his first novel translated into English, was an Indie Next Pick, a Barnes &Noble Discover selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and a Costco Staff Pick. He lives in Berlin.