Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna

From the publisher: When Prosecco‑loving Auntie Poldi retired to Sicily from Germany, she never dreamed her tranquil days would be interrupted by murder. But Sicily had other plans, and Poldi found herself honor‑bound to solve the disappearance of her beloved (and cute) handyman. Now she’s finally ready for some peace and quiet—interrupted by romantic encounters with handsome Chief Inspector Montana, of course—when the water supply to her neighborhood is cut off and a dear friend’s dog is poisoned, telltale signs that a certain familial organization is flexing its muscles. Poldi knows there will be no resolution without her help. She soon finds a body in a vineyard, tangles with the Mafia, and yet again makes herself unpopular in the pursuit of justice. But once wine and murder mix, how could she possibly stay away? 

The Auntie Poldi series appeals to me for a couple of reasons. First off, the story is narrated by her nephew, and as a childless aunt I’m always interested in stories about interesting aunts and their relationships with their nephews and nieces. Secondly, it is set in Italy, which I’ve visited twice and hope to visit again. I haven’t been to Sicily but I really want to go (and probably should have saved this book for that trip, but I couldn’t wait).

The author was born in Munich, Germany to Italian immigrants. It feels like he has done his research or has visited Italy often. I’m sure some of the stuff is stereotypical – there is a lot about the Mafia and organized crime – but I know firsthand some of the stuff is not. The sweetened espresso, the crazy driving. There are a lot of dogs in these books, including a scary pair of German shepherds named Hanz and Franz. The Italian love of dogs also seems very typical. A scene involving Poldi, her sisters, her brother-in-law, and the dog was amusingly madcap, as was a scene in which Poldi, her priest, and her sad Signora friend break into a house to search for a clue to a murder. I enjoyed the many references to the active volcano Mount Etna and its continual smoking.

The nephew is a good narrator but a terrible writer who comes to stay with Poldi and work on his terrible novel. (“Another week at my Auntie Poldi’s was over, and I was feeling proud of myself. That needs saying occasionally. I was in full flow. I was the adjective ace, the metaphor magician, the sorcerer of the subordinate clause, the expresser of emotions, the master of a host of startling but entirely plausible turns of events.” (p. 325 of the advance reader copy) His descriptions of his plot are just as bad and show the startling turns are anything but plausible.) Poldi tells him what happened as she investigates crimes, and he tells us, and they are both unreliable and entertaining.

Auntie Poldi reminds me a bit of the best of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, although Poldi is more interesting and the plots so far are more original and less formulaic. She is sixty years old and living her best life. Looking forward to a long-running series.

I read an advance reader copy of Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna. It is scheduled to be published in early March 2019 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library. The first book in the series, Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, is available now.