Customer Reviews

He Who Dies (An Angela Matelli Mystery)

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After spending eight years in the Marines, Angela Matelli returned to her old Boston neighborhood where she opened up an office as a private investigator. Angela has five siblings, an absentee father (considered a blessing), and a beloved mother who is the nucleus that keeps the family together.

Everyone knows that faithful son Albert is a front guy for the mob, but the Matelli clan ignores that because they love him. When Albert fails to call his mother as he has done for years, a panicky Mrs. Matelli calls her daughter the sleuth to find him. A reluctant Angela cannot say no to her doomsday mother and goes to Albert's house where she discovers a corpse. Her follow-up inquiries lead her to her brother's employer, the Rhode Island Don, who admits that he and Albert are business partners in a toy manufacturing company. Albert calls his sister and requests she learn what is going on at the toy factory because someone is willing to kill to take it over.

The Angela Matelli mysteries are witty, action-packed tales filled with local color. The likable heroine is a tough broad who seems to be a female Spencer. HE WHO DIES is a who-done-it with several elements of a family saga. The support cast adds eccentricity and atmosphere with several interesting enough to have their own series. Wendi Lee writes a dynamic story that female sleuth fans will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Angela Matelli is a private investigator. When her mother calls to say that Angela's youngest brother Albert hasn't been heard from in several days, Angela decides to find her wayward sibling. When she goest to her brother's apartment and discovers a corpse she is relieved to find it isn't her brother. Then her mother receives a severed finger in the mail and Angela must discover why the Cosa Nostra is interested in a toy kitten found with the corpse and the Itty Bitty Kitty Toy Company -- all while on a desperate effort to locate her brother and rescue him before he loses any more body parts! He Who Dies is a compelling page-turner of a mystery. Also very highly recommended are Wendi Lee's earlier novels, Deadbeat (0373263392...) and Missing Eden. (0373263015,...).

Wendi Lee conveys a great sense of place in her private eye story about Angela Matelli and her large Boston-area Italian family. Her brother Albert doesn't show up for the family Sunday dinner and Angela's mother is worried. Since Albert makes his living as a front man for the Mafia, some concern is in order.

Although I enjoyed Angela and her family, I was looking for that twist to the mystery plot. While the novel ended up in an exciting climax, there wasn't much surprise about who was keeping Albert, why they were doing it, or what was going to happen next.