Here Comes the Body (A Catering Hall Mystery)
by Maria DiRicoHere Comes the Body
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Kensington (February 25, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 page
ISBN-10: 1496725344
ISBN-13: 978-1496725349
Digital ASIN: B07R8WYLSC
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 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!
EXCERPT
It was John’s turn to look sour. Alice once again rolled her eyes. She was doing this so much Mia feared she’d detach her retina. “Everything is in great shape,” Mia said, trying to defuse the tension and bring the awkward appointment to an end. “If you have any questions or concerns, call me anytime day or night.” She extricated two of her new business cards, then stood up and handed the “happy” couple each a card. “Get ready for the most exciting night of your lives.”
John pumped a fist in the air. “Saturday night, baby.”
This earned him another elbow in the ribs from Alice. “She’s talking about the wedding, not your stupid bachelor party.”
“I’m sure both events will be unforgettable,” Mia said in as neutral a tone as she could muster up.
The betrothed couple departed, arguing their way out the door. Spent, Mia closed her eyes and fell into her office chair, which rolled backward a few feet.
Jamie’s right, she thought. The biggest events in people’s lives can be the most stressful—on me. She opened her eyes and inhaled the rejuvenating scent of Ravello’s flowers. This led to an idea. Could her father have dipped a toe in the dating waters prior to falling for his floral arrangement teacher?
She left her office and went in search of Ravello’s, which she found at the end of the hallway. It was lunchtime, which could only mean one thing—
Ravello was having the pasta of the day at Roberto’s Trattoria. It was the one aspect of the mobster’s lifewhere he was obsessive-compulsive. As predicted, hisoffice was empty. Mia stepped behind his desk andopened the Internet browser connection on his computer.
Knowing her somewhat-Luddite of a father, she assumed he never cleared his search history, which proved to be true. She scrolled down until she finally saw it: a search for Meet Your Match, which Ravello’s poor typing skills had misspelled as Meeet Your Match.
“Oh boy,” she muttered.
Mia closed the browser and returned to her office.She needed to talk to someone about the situation, and she knew exactly who: her older brother, Positano “Posi” Carina. Mia sat down at her desk and tapped out an address on her keyboard. A website for the Triborough Correctional Facility appeared on her monitor. She dialed the number on the screen from the landline on her desk, then pressed through a series of numbers until she finally reached a human being. “Yes, hi. I was wondering what your visiting hours are today. I need to talk to an inmate.”
About Maria DiRico
Maria DiRico was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is a first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances. She also writes the award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series under the name Ellen Byron.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ellenbyronla
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