Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Book Review: Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico (Catering Hall Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Characters, story, and lots of laughs
Cons: A couple things didn’t quite work for me
The Bottom Line:
Reality show
Brings murder, plenty of fun
Keeps pages turning



Reality Show Gets Real with Murder

While I don’t watch the soap opera tinged reality shows, I have heard enough about them and seen clips to get an idea of what they are like.  So, when a fictional one was the basis for Four Parties and a Funeral, the fourth Catering Hall Mystery from Maria DiRico, I sat back expecting a rollicking good time.

This series is a little different from a typical cozy mystery.  Mia Carina is our main character, and she works at Belle View Banquet Manor, a catering hall.  So far, it sounds like a cozy, right?  However, what if I told you that the catering hall was located in Astoria, Queens in New York City.  And what if I told you this was a legitimate business Mia is running for the members of a mob family.  And some of Mia’s immediate family members have been involved in the mob.  No, this might not fit your typical cozy definition, but it works wonderfully as a cozy anyway.

In this book, some reality show producers have come to the area to film the pilot for a new reality show, Dons of Ditmars Boulevard.  While Mia has no desire to be included in any way, Belle View has been booked for a few scenes, and they’ve been hired for catering.  Naturally, Mia knows some of those who are included in the cast, including Little Donny, the grown son of the Family that owns Belle View.

The drama the producers are looking for on screen is nothing compared to the drama happening behind the scenes.  The show has hardly started filming when someone is killed.  The police zero in on Little Donny as their chief suspect.  Mia has known him all his life, and knows that he couldn’t possibly commit murder.  But can she figure out what really happened?

As I said, I don’t typically watch these types of shows, but I certainly know enough about them to see the way the book is mocking them.  I laughed many times at the antics happening on stage and behind the camera.  I can only imagine that fans of the genre would get an even bigger kick out of it than I did.

Having said that, there were a few things that didn’t quite work for my logical brain.  An additional storyline in the book involves Mia’s friend Jamie’s wedding.  Jamie happens to be Little Donny’s younger brother, so it sort of made sense for the show to film at some of the events.  Yet, it didn’t completely work for me.  There were a few other things about the production that didn’t feel right.  But maybe if I watched this type of show, I’d see my nitpicks aren’t valid.

On the other hand, I was truly having fun as I read.  I mentioned I was laughing right?  So I mainly told that part of my brain to shut up and enjoyed the ride.

Despite all the storylines, the mystery was strong.  We get as many clues as we do antics along the way.  I was very impressed when Mia pulled everything together at the end with exactly how things fell into place and some of the twists we got along the way.

Since this is book four in the series, we’ve gotten to know some of the characters pretty well.  They give us some more great sub-plots here, a couple that add to the humor of the book and one that really helps develop the characters involved.  Some of the new characters are a bit caricature, but they work for the over-the-top antics they are supposed to be engaged in.

We get several recipes at the end, including one that escaped from an earlier book in the series.  There are also a couple of party tips.

Four Parties and a Funeral is a fun and funny cozy mystery.  If you are looking for something that will leave you with a grin on your face, this book, and this series, are for you.

Book more fun with the rest of the Catering Hall Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

2 comments:

  1. I don't watch reality tv but I do love books that involve them as there's always so much drama. This looks like a fun mystery and this is definitely a series I really need to try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice review Mark. I like the sound of this one

    ReplyDelete

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