Marinara

The Marinara Murders

A grown man living in his mother's basement, disgraced detective Arthur Beautyman knows his life has fallen off a cliff. But that doesn't mean he has to be happy about his mother's solution to his woes: volunteering him to solve a case for her favorite bridge partner. The body of a young man who disappeared three years before is discovered drowned in an icy Minnesota late on the day of his father's restaurant grand opening. But he's only been dead for three days. Where has he been all this time? And what is the connection between his death and the new restaurant? To get his mother off his back, Beautyman agrees to take the case. That's when he discovers she wants to be his partner on the case as well ... With a recipe of unique cast of characters and terribly dysfunctional families, The Marinara Murders seamlessly blends comedy and mystery into one very enjoyable read.

Crime of the Ancient Marinara

American chef Nell Valenti's high hopes for a successful Tuscan farm-to-table cooking school are in danger of withering on the vine in this delectable cozy mystery. Nell Valenti is settling into her role of transforming the Villa Orlandini into a superb farm-to-table cooking school, and the time has finally come for a full taste test run. But when Chef Orlandini prepares to reveal his top secret marinara recipe for the first time to a group of American gastro-tourists, Nell realizes she might have bitten off more than she can chew. Nell begins to suspect that one of the tourists is actually a private detective sent to spy on her by her overprotective father, and the fussy foodies are noisy and disrespectful from the very start of the Marinara Mysteriosa workshop. Even worse, when one visitor appears to be poisoned by the famous marinara recipe, Nell will have to work fast to uncover a killer and keep a lid on bad press before her fresh start is spoiled for good.

Marinara