Long Island Iced Tina

by Maria DiRico

Overview

In the second installment of Maria DiRico's new Catering Hall Mystery series, Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens, in charge of the family catering hall Belle View Banquet Manor, and keeping her nonna company. But some events—like murder at a shower—are not the kind you can schedule...

Mia's newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View—but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It's a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for "how to run a catering hall" can get you only so far.

Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole's Belle View shower when a fight breaks out—and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . .

Italian recipes included!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496725356
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Series:	A Catering Hall Mystery , #2
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	164,367
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 4.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother's side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father's side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother's family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She's a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs. She can be found online at EllenByron.com and ChicksOnTheCase.com.

Editorial Reviews

2020-12-26
Her best friend’s baby shower turns deadly for a Queens caterer.

Mia Carina is proud of the work she’s done on the Belle View Banquet Manor. Thanks to improved insulation, the planes taking off from LaGuardia Airport, just across Flushing Bay, no longer shake the chandeliers and rattle the dishes. And while new hire Benjy Tutera works hard but does nothing right and longtime employee Cammie Dianopolis does nothing, period, cooks Evans and Guadelupe turn out a steady stream of treats that keep the clients coming back for more. Best of all, the Belle View is legit, allowing Mia’s dad, Ravello, to run a business at arm’s length from his employers, the Boldano crime family. When Mia's friend Nicole Karras-Whitman is looking for a site for a baby shower hosted by her mother, Mia is quick not only to offer the Belle View, but to make sure that Linda Karras’ tasteful affair will provide a stark contrast to the over-the-top showoff shindig thrown by Nicole’s stepmother, Tina. Unfortunately, Linda’s shower is also the swan song for Tina, whose body is discovered shortly afterward floating in Flushing Bay. Mia has two good reasons to look into Tina’s death: She wants to protect her beloved banquet hall from any hint of a connection with the murder, and she wants to make sure Nicole’s dad isn’t the No. 1 suspect.

An amiable, predictable tale of a quick-witted girl from the boroughs who makes good as a sleuth.

Kirkus Reviews