A Dish Best Served Cold by Rosie Genova

Sometimes all the ingredients come together in a perfect story! Italians and their families, and a murder mystery cooked at a simmer during a hurricane makes for a tasty treat. A Dish Served Cold is the third part in the Italian Kitchen Mystery Series by Rosie Genova.

From the back of the book:

The national bestselling author of The Wedding Soup Murder returns to the Jersey Shore where a killer is stirring up trouble during a hurricane…

At the Casa Lido, the end of summer means a party, and hit whodunit writer Victoria “Vic” Rienzi and her family are cooking like crazy for the restaurant’s seventieth anniversary celebration. As they chop onions and garlic, old family friend Pete Petrocelli stops by, saying he knows something that would make for a good mystery novel. Curious, Vic asks Nonna to elaborate on Pete’s claim and learns of a relative who mysteriously disappeared back in Italy…

The night of the party brings a crowd—and a full throttle hurricane. When the storm finally passes, everyone thinks they’re in the clear—until the first casualty is found, and it’s Pete. Remembering his visit, Vic isn’t certain Pete’s death was an accident and decides to dig deeper into his story. What she finds is meatier than Nonna’s sauce…

My thoughts:

I must say I love Vic! As a mystery writer, she has an eye for solving mysteries and a nose for when something smells spoiled. There were a lot of lively characters, a fun family setting and, of course, great food. 

The story was wonderfully paced with a lot going on and full of page turning tension that will have you drawn in from start to finish. This is a third part but all the characters are introduced in a way that you won't miss a beat and that you will feel right at home.

Of course, I should mention if the talk of food in the book has you salivating, you will be happy to know there are recipes in the back of the book. It's all win, great people, great plotting and great eats!  

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Disclosure: I may receive products in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I personally believe will be good for my readers.