A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder (Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
Author: Fiona Grace
4 out of 5 stars
Veterinarian Audrey Smart has become increasingly unhappy with her life with difficult colleagues and failure to find romance. The final straw is her 15 year high school reunion, where she hears about the successful lives of her former classmates. After seeing an ad for derelict, $1 homes in Sicily, Audrey decides to take a risk, purchase a house, and move to Sicily. But she vastly underestimates the renovations her new home needs, and things only get worse when her neighbor’s foreman is murdered after Audrey argues with him, making her a suspect. Audrey is determined to find the real killer and save her Sicilian dreams. Will she succeed, or will her dreams come crashing down?
Overall, I enjoyed this book, even though it didn’t focus on the murder as much as I expected. In fact, the murder didn’t even occur until the middle of the story. Instead, the main focus is on Audrey and her journey as she moves to a new country and how this changes her as a person. I wonder if the rest of the series is similar?
In general, I thought the characters were well written, and they all had distinct personalities. Audrey is a sympathetic and relatable character. She’s sympathetic because of her unhappiness and dissatisfaction with her life and career. And she’s relatable because of her personality and the way she reacts to and handles what happens to her in the story.
The only negative for the book is that some of the beginning sections, like when Audrey’s getting ready for her reunion and when she’s there, felt like they dragged a bit. Because of this, I’m rating this book 4 out of 5 stars.
I recommend A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder to anyone who enjoys more character focused mysteries. But if you’re looking for a longer, less straightforward mystery, than you’ll want to look else where.
Price: $0
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Villa-Sicily-Olive-Murder-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B08L5MP7LV
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