Book Review: The Witless Protection Program by Maria DiRico (Catering Hall Mysteries #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great story, characters, and laughs

Cons: A couple of minor things with the climax

The Bottom Line:

First husband returns

Causing Mia more trouble

Sad to see the end

Mia’s Past Disrupts Her Future

There are some obvious tropes in cozy mysteries, and one of them is that past significant others will come back at some point to wreak havoc in the main character’s life.  Of course, it’s always about how an author uses that set up, and Maria DiRico does a fantastic job with it in The Witless Protection Program.

This is the fifth and, sadly, final book in the Catering Hall Mysteries.  Mia Carina is the main character, and she runs the Belle View Banquet Manor in Queens, one of the legitimate businesses that the mob Family her dad and brother have worked for runs.  As this particular book opens, she’s impatiently waiting for her boyfriend, Shane, to propose.

However, their future together hits a bump when Mia spots her first husband at a wedding expo she’s working.  Adam was supposed to have died in a boat accident years before in Florida, however his body had never been found.  Before Mia can confront him, he disappears, only to pop up again.  Why is Adam back?

Of course, as soon as I read about this part of Mia’s past in the first book, I knew we’d see Adam before the series was over.  Our patience was rewarded with this book.  The mystery is great since so many of Mia’s loved ones wind up as suspects.  There are so many surprises and twists along the way, yet the climax wraps everything up well.  A couple of things were handled a little abruptly, but that’s a minor complaint.

Meanwhile, we also have a couple of strong sub-plots that weave in and out of the main mystery perfectly.  In lesser hands, it would have been easy to find the mystery taking a back seat to the other goings on, but that was never the case.  I might be a little biased since I do love the cast, so I got caught up in all the storylines, but I really did feel like things wove together very well.

And the comedy!  This may be the funniest book in the series.  There were so many great lines and situations.

Yet, the characters come across as real, even the ones that are more comic relief.  It helps that we’ve really come to care for Mia and Shane, so we want to see them get their happy ending.

Speaking of ending, the author knew that this was the final book in the series when she set down to write it, and it shows.  We get a fantastic ending for the characters.  Okay, so maybe it was a little over the top, but it feels right.  I was grinning when I set the book down, although I am sad we won’t get to spend any more time with the characters.

As I’ve noted with past books in the series, don’t let the fact that this book involves the Mob and is set in Queens bother you.  This is definitely still a cozy mystery.  The Family might be mob-light, but it works for these books.

Those looking for some Italian recipes will be delighted with the four we get at the end of this book.  There are a couple I’d be interested to try because they sound different, and I suspect I’d like them.

Those who have been following the Catering Hall Mysteries will be delighted with The Witless Protection Program.  While I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters, I have really enjoyed spending time with them.

Book the rest of the Catering Hall Mysteries.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.