Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (Auntie Poldi Adventure, #1)

by Mario Giordano

John Brownjohn (Translator)

"On her sixtieth birthday, Auntie Poldi retires to Sicily, intending to while away the rest of her days with good wine, a view of the sea, and few visitors. But Sicily isn't quite the tranquil island she thought it would be, and something always seems to get in the way of her relaxation. When her handsome young handyman goes missing--and is discovered murdered--she can't help but ask questions. Soon there's an investigation, a smoldering police inspector, a romantic entanglement, one false lead after another, a rooftop showdown, and finally, of course, Poldi herself, slightly tousled but still perfectly poised."--

"For fans of A Man Called Ove and the novels of Adriana Trigiani: a charming, delightfully sexy, and bighearted novel starring Auntie Poldi, Sicily's newest amateur sleuth"--

• ISBN10: 1328863573
• ISBN13: 9781328863577
• Publish Date: 6 March 2018 (first published 14 July 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ecco Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I bought this book one day, because I was busting for the bathroom and the Library was the closest public one; I felt a little bad about just going in to use the facilities, so I popped into the FOTL shop (again) and picked this one up.   Meh.  It wasn't bad or great; it had it's moments, but while I liked the narrator (Aunti Poldi's nephew), and Poldi's sisters-in-law, I didn't really care for Aunt Poldi, probably because she was a drunk.  The author attempts to make her desire to drink herself to death sound romantic, and–weirdly–funny, but it just comes across as: she's a bleeding drunk.   The mystery was good though; I didn't see the solution coming at all and it held my attention when the MC failed to.   I read this for space #19 as the cover is easily 50% blue.

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is the first novel in a mystery series by author Mario Giordano. The titular character, Isolde Oberreider, aka Poldi, has retired from film/tv (where she was a costumer) to Sicily to drink, soak up sun, enjoy seeing attractive men in uniform and live out her twilight years whilst solving the occasional murder.

At 346 pages, it's a more substantial read than many contemporary procedurals or cozies. The length allowed the author to richly develop the setting and characters without suffering from book bloat at all. The plotting was tight and the pacing was perfect and never dragged for me.

Released 6th March, 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's available in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

This is a really charming book with very appealing and sympathetic characters written with humor and heart. I really cared about the characters. The narrator, Poldi's nephew, serves as Poldi's sounding board, along with three Italian aunties who serve as a Greek chorus for the narrative.
Originally released in German in 2015, the translation by John Brownjohn is seamless and nuanced and certainly doesn't seem to detract from story at all.
Poldi is smart and funny, quirky and outspoken and I adore her. I'm really looking forward to future installments (foreshadowed on the last page, and already released in German and coming soon in translation).

Five stars, really enjoyable read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 Stars.

I received a copy of Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions from Bookish First in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Auntie Poldi is exactly the story of casual mystery I’m looking for when I need to read a book and unwind. It’s about a stubborn middle aged Bavarian woman who refuses to let anybody scare her away from finding the truth. It actually reminds me quite a lot of the sort of TV series I used to watch with my mom when I was growing up, so it’s really no surprise that I wanted to give this series a try.



First things first, the writing style for Auntie Poldi is a bit on the odd side. It is being written as if it was being penned by Poldi’s nephew (hence the title). It can be a little off-putting at times, and it frequently breaks the immersion. However, it does fight with the lighter fluffier tone of the series, and helps to separate the readers from the tragedy that occurs (this is a murder mystery, after all).
Aunt Poldi is a woman with spunk and tenacity, and her character does wonders to show that there are multiple levels of depression a person can face. Months ago Poldi had been content to slowly drink herself to death (after the loss of her husband), but now that she’s got a task to keep her mind going, she’s suddenly got something to live for. Like a dog with a bone, she won’t give up the chase, even when it calls for her to give up alcohol (well, mostly, and only so she can think clearly during ‘her case’). The fact that the murder caused an attractive hulk of a police officer to pay attention to her probably didn’t hurt either.
This story has a lot of quirks and personality to it. In a way it’s more of a character study than a murder mystery. It frequently takes a long time to get to the point, and it is very fond of excessive details and character back-stories and interactions. Still, it was a relaxing read, which is exactly what I was hoping to find in it.
As for the mystery itself, it’s a relatively predictable story, the final twists and turns being more or less what one would expect. In a way I was actually okay with that, since it allowed me to continue relaxing while I was reading.
This isn’t a groundbreaking story by any means, but it is perfect for a casual or comforting read. If you’re looking for a beach read full of personality, then I’d suggest taking a look at this one. It may just be worth your time.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks