Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions - Tapa blanda

Kirkus Reviews: "An ex-pat from Munich finds love and murder in Sicily.When Isolde Oberreiter decides at age 60 to move from Munich to Sicily "to drink herself comfortably to death with a sea view," her decision makes a crazy kind of sense. Giordano's wit and his formidable heroine's wisdom combine to make this debut a smash." London Times: "Determined to solve the mystery herself, she interferes with police inquiries and lusts after the commissario in charge. Mario Giordano -- a Bavarian of Sicilian parentage who writes in German -- has created a delightful detective and a lively, humorous portrait of Sicilian society and gastronomy." Times, Marcel Berlins Publishers Weekly: "Giordano's winning debut and series launch unleashes 60-year-old Isolde "Poldi" Oberreiter, the daughter of a Munich police detective, on the unsuspecting populace of the Sicilian village Torre Archirafi, where the fiercest conflicts center on where to buy the best fish, or whether coffee should be drunk solely as a sugar delivery system. Poldi's pursuit of Valentino's killers is done with breezy good humor. Wry, appreciative observations of Sicilian food, people, and history herald a series worth tracking." Kirkus Reviews: -An ex-pat from Munich finds love and murder in Sicily.When Isolde Oberreiter decides at age 60 to move from Munich to Sicily -to drink herself comfortably to death with a sea view, - her decision makes a crazy kind of sense. Giordano's wit and his formidable heroine's wisdom combine to make this debut a smash.- London Times: -Determined to solve the mystery herself, she interferes with police inquiries and lusts after the commissario in charge. Mario Giordano -- a Bavarian of Sicilian parentage who writes in German -- has created a delightful detective and a lively, humorous portrait of Sicilian society and gastronomy.- Times, Marcel Berlins Publishers Weekly: -Giordano's winning debut and series launch unleashes 60-year-old Isolde -Poldi- Oberreiter, the daughter of a Munich police detective, on the unsuspecting populace of the Sicilian village Torre Archirafi, where the fiercest conflicts center on where to buy the best fish, or whether coffee should be drunk solely as a sugar delivery system. Poldi's pursuit of Valentino's killers is done with breezy good humor. Wry, appreciative observations of Sicilian food, people, and history herald a series worth tracking.- Auntie Poldi just won the 2016 German audio book prize in category best entertainment . The jury said: Cosa Nostra meets a highly strung Bavarian force of nature. Great fun with a holiday spirit, light, witty, and with lovely traces of irony.A grande divertimento! What a wonderful new sleuth! BILD The perfect summer mystery comedyan infectious mix of Italian joie de vivre and a hilarious new detective character DONNA This irresistible and magnificent woman becomes an impressive literary figure in Giordano s laid-back writing, someone one who feels like a good friend in just a few paragraphs. KOLNER STADT-ANZEIGER Masterful! MINCHNER MERKUR This novel delivers a lovable eccentric protagonist, a hilarious plot and much witty dialogue. MAIN POST " What a wonderful new sleuth! BILD The perfect summer mystery comedyan infectious mix of Italian joie de vivre and a hilarious new detective character DONNA This irresistible and magnificent woman becomes an impressive literary figure in Giordano s laid-back writing, someone one who feels like a good friend in just a few paragraphs. KOLNER STADT-ANZEIGER Masterful! MINCHNER MERKUR This novel delivers a lovable eccentric protagonist, a hilarious plot and much witty dialogue. MAIN POST "

Recently widowed Poldi moves to Sicily in order to quietly drink herself to death with a sea view. But fate intervenes. When she finds the corpse of a young man on the beach, his face blown off with a sawn-off shotgun, she becomes a potential suspect in his murder case. Poldi soon falls for the gorgeous Commissario Montana who has been assigned to lead the case and, after some initial misunderstandings, they form an investigative - and romantic - partnership. The delightful detail of this romance, and the extreme awkwardness of its retelling to her mortified nephew, produce some of the novel's many high points, and exemplify the work's warmth and wit. Sicily is a vivid backdrop, an island of people obsessed with food, family and friendship. They talk passionately about which remote village produces the best olives, pistachio ice-cream, oyster mushrooms, mandarins and marzipan, about which restaurant serves the best pasta al nero di sepia or canolli a la crema di ricotta. And never a direct reference to the mafia ("...an invention of those fascists in the North"), even when discussing corruption and murders committed with sawn-off shotguns.