Mozzarella Most Murderous: A Culinary Mystery With Recipes [Large Print] [Paperback]

Nancy Fairbanks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2005

Food writer Carolyn Blue is looking forward to firing up some passion with her husband - and enjoying sumptuous Italian food - in romantic Sorrento, Italy. When a strike strands Jason in Paris, Carolyn spends her first day with a beautiful Italian woman named Paolina who has been stood up by her lover. The next day, Carolyn's vacation turns sour when she finds her lovely companion drowned in the hotel's pool.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A delectable series."
-- The Mystery Reader (UNKNOWN )

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (November 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597221090
• ISBN-13: 978-1597221092
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,255,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful addition to the series, July 23, 2005

By 

debrajrj (South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozzarella Most Murderous (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

This series has become one of my favorites; you always know you are looking forward to a few hours of complete enjoyment. The latest addition is no exception.

Carolyn Blue is a forty-something faculty wife, embarking on a second career as a food writer. Her husband's work as a chemist gives her ample opportunity to travel to exotic locations and sample local fare. Needless to say, her passion for food is a running theme throughout the series, and often is the source for much comedy. For readers who cook, recipes are inserted throughout as parts of the columns that Carolyn writes. She is also an amatuer historian, and interesting bits of local (and not so local) history are scattered through the pages.

The latest installment has Carolyn in Sorrento, Italy. Compared to previous books, this one was somewhat light in place desciption; previous books would have delighted not just fans of the genre but fans of the area in which the books have been set. As an Italophile, I didn't find this book as charming as the previous ones, in which I've enjoyed mini-vacations to New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Barcellona, France and El Paso. Perhaps it was my increased familiarity with the place. In any event, this cost half a star in my rating-- Ms. Fairbanks has set very high standards in her previous books indeed, and this one just didn't quite live up to them.

Ms. Fairbanks alternates the narrative between Carolyn and her accomplice for this book, Bianca, a heavily pregnant Italian woman whose husband is attending the same conference as Carolyn's. In less deft hands, this could be distracting, but Ms. Fairbanks handles is beautifully and it adds greatly to the humor of the book. Bianca's pregnancy, as mentioned by a previous reviewer, is a great source of comedy and is well-utilized.

As in her previous books, the cast of characters is entertaining, from the Englishwoman obsessed with botany, to the french poodle obsessed with Carolyn, to the hotel management obsessed with rules that all the guests ignore. Carolyn's husband Jason plays less of a role in this book than in most of the previous books, and I miss the easy, funny, and supportive relationship they had previously. Carolyn does, too, although not as much as in the last book. When Jason is stranded in Paris, Carolyn's first day in Sorrento is spent quite enjoyably with Paolina, whom Carolyn then finds dead in the hotel swimming pool the next morning. Carolyn seems to be the only one truly interested in finding out the truth behind her death, and sets about investigating, enlisting Bianca's aid.

Ultimately, this book will charm you, and have you looking for the other books in the series. Do yourself a favor and just pick them all up at once!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fantastic story!, December 14, 2005

By 

Tonya Speelman "Hoarder of books" (Goldendale WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mozzarella Most Murderous (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

This story was fantastic. The recipes sound out of this world and the story is very entertaining and full of fun facts. I loved our herione in the last book but in this book she has a pregnant helper to figure out who killed the woman with whom she had dinner and shopping with the previous day.

Again, however I had issues with the relationship with the husband. It didn't stop me from reading this book though, and I guess it is more like real life where they don't always get along and play kissy face.

This book however I guessed the murderer almost right away, but that is ok. Still a great read!! Bravo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Written as usual, October 22, 2005

By 

Former world traveler "Now armchair traveler" (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mozzarella Most Murderous (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

Nancy Fairbanks always seems to write well researched well written cosy mystery stories. She writes to a consistent high level about a number of locations and subjects. The latest one is no exception.