Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions: Auntie Poldi 1 - Tapa dura

Cross Alexander McCall Smith with Janet Evanovich, add a sensuously imagined Sicilian setting and an exuberant narrator, and you get the feel of Mario Giordano's Auntie Poldi detective books * The Times * The most enchanting novel I've read in ages! Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is a lush, sexy, and slightly madcap romp, much like Auntie Poldi herself. She's the aunt your mother warned you about - the one who never turns down a drink or a date with a dashing stranger, never mind the consequences . . . Mario Giordano has a gift for eccentric storytelling, snappy dialogue, and sly wit, making this a tart and delectable treat that you'll press on all your friends. I can't wait for the next installment! * Amy Stewart * The whole book is alive with a tang of lemons to set the senses zinging. Refreshing * The Spectator * Wonderfully evocative . . . a joyful light read * Crime Review * Giordano is a novelist of high skill and originality with an eye for eccentric comedy, idiosyncratic characters and vivid scenes. John Brownjohn's translation is stylish and this book is a masterly treat * Times Literary Supplement * Mario Giordano - a Bavarian of Sicilian parentage who writes in German - has created a delightful detective and a lively, humorous portrait of Sicilian society and gastronomy * The Times, Book of the Month *

'Alive with a tang of lemons to set the senses zinging' The Spectator Fiction at its most charming - A Man Called Ove meets Andrea Camilleri, Auntie Poldi is this summer's most unlikely hero. Auntie Poldi can think of no finer place to wait for death than Sicily. All she asks is a sea view, fine wine (and plenty of it), and her family close around. When death instead takes her handsome young friend Valentino - and under mysterious circumstances at that - Poldi will not take it lying down. Perhaps it's in her blood (her father was a detective chief inspector); perhaps it's a diverting excuse to spend more time with men in uniform; or perhaps it's just the promise she makes to Valentino while holding his poor dead hand. But Auntie Poldi's hunting instincts have never felt more alive. Justice must be served - if it's the last thing she does . . . Auntie Poldi and the Fruits of the Lord, the second Auntie Poldi adventure, is out now!