Three-Card Monte (Mystery)
“A Bar Lume Mystery”
By Marco Malvaldi
ISBN #978-1609452056
168 Pages
Price $16.00
Rating 5-Stars
During an International Conference, A
Japanese professor falls and hits his head, and dies. However, the autopsy
shows he was given a medication that poisoned him, and his fall was not the
actual cause of death. Messimo Viviani is catering the conference, but thinks
nothing of it, until Inspector Vinicio Fusco calls him to the station for
questioning, and he learns about the poison. Aldo, who owns
the Boccacoio restaurant, his catering partner, is also called and tells the Bar Lume gang
about the case. These include Messimo’s 83-year old grandfather, Ampelio Viviani, Gino Rimediotti, 74, and Pilade Del
Tacco, 74, constant companions at the bar. As the old men discuss the murder,
the Bar Lume waitress Tiziana Grazzelli redecorates the bar interior, and Messimo
becomes an English translator as the police question the international
visitors.
This is a character driven novel, with
small attention paid to the mystery, yet the characters keep the narrative
moving smoothly, and the interest high. The main character is Messimo, the Bar
Lume owner and bartender, who must put up with his grandfather’s cohorts that
dominate the bar every day, sitting at their favorite table discussing the
subject de jour, and local gossip. Messimo tends to get personally involved in
murder cases – this is the second in the series – giving the old gentlemen
plenty to talk about. A fun series, despite the weak mystery this time around,
and I highly recommend it to mystery lovers, especially Cozy Mystery fans.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
No comments:
Post a Comment