AUNTIE POLDI AND THE HANDSOME ANTONIO

Dreams of a sweet Sicilian retirement are dashed for a Munich matron when her ex turns up and entices her into a murder investigation.

The story opens at a moment of high drama: A shady character known as Handsome Antonio is holding a fish cleaver up to the throat of beloved Auntie Poldi. The witness and chronicler of this scene is her nephew, an aspiring writer who’s the gregarious first-person narrator of her adventures (Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lion, 2018, etc.). Antonio wants, and assumes that Poldi has, “it!” But before the reader can learn what “it” is, the story flashes back to a visit Poldi receives from her Tanzanian ex-husband, John Owenya, whom she thought she was well rid of. Not only does this put a crimp in her budding relationship with Vito Montana; John’s half brother, Thomas, has disappeared, presumably on the run from the Mafia. Given her reputation as a detective, it’s no wonder that John wants Poldi’s help. The only clue left behind is a card with the name “Handsome Antonio” and a 12-digit number printed on it. And so the game is afoot, Poldi’s heedless headlong sleuthing (she rides a Vespa) chafing against her nephew’s long-winded timidity. The murder of Thomas raises the stakes but doesn’t darken the tone of this comic caper. There’s no dearth of banter, chases, and narrow escapes. A dash of zest comes from capsule descriptions of the narrative at the beginning of each chapter.

Giordano’s third Auntie Poldi mystery is frothy, if forgettable, fun. Mrs. Pollifax would be proud.