Quick Glimpses: The Wedding Soup Murder

/
Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash

Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash

In the second book of the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, The Wedding Soup Murder, Victoria is charged with helping cater a wedding at a fancy country club that overlooks the beach. When the club’s president is found dead the morning after the reception, our sleuth returns to the scene of the crime:

From where I stood, I could see that the walkway to the beach was lined with a mix of natural vegetation and flowers that grow in sandy soil. The path was a good distance from the club, and the beach grass was high enough to obscure anyone walking there, especially at night. I crept along the side of the path, my heart thrumming in my chest. Sneaking around in places I shouldn’t be was the part of detecting I hated (and Sofia thrived on). In the distance was the ocean; in front of me the platform and a steep drop to the beach below. I kept my eyes on the horizon as I approached the wooden structure, trying with little success to look as though I belonged on a crime scene. The railing around the platform would have been waist high for my sixty-five inches; Merriman was taller. But there was no gate across the stairway, and the steps looked narrow. She probably fell forward, straight over the stairs. . .

Why I Love Nora Ephron

/
IMG-1594 (2).JPG
IMG-1593 (2).jpg

Nora Ephron was my biggest girl crush. My biggest influence and inspiration as a writer. You know that New York Times feature, “By the Book,” in which writers are asked who would be invited to their fantasy dinner parties? Well, Nora would definitely have a seat at my imaginary table. Like her, I started out as a journalist, and when I turned to fiction, I began by writing romantic comedies. I’ve been following Ephron’s career since I read Crazy Salad in college. Heartburn has a special place on my bookshelf, (and I still hate Carl Bernstein). This past Mother’s Day, my sons hit it out of the park with their gift: a signed first edition of Ephron’s essays. I keep it in my office, over my desk. Just looking at the cover makes me happy.

Ephron is the kind of writer who makes you feel as though you know her; it’s that unmistakable voice—smart and funny and loud, unafraid to be both feminist and feminine. As a writer for Esquire, she held her own with the big boys, but also understood the power of a good meal—or a good hair cut, for that matter.       

In so much of her work, she tells the often uncomfortable truths about what women think and feel—open up to any page of I Feel Bad About My Neck; watch the scene in Sleepless when Rosie O’Donnell tells Meg Ryan: “You don’t want love. You want movie love.” (Damn right, Nora.)

 But we also want our place in the world, a theme Ephron explored in Julie and Julia, in which a young writer, Julie Powell, realizes her dream through the inspiration of the more famous and successful woman, Julia Child. A bit like Nora and me. . .

Quick Glimpses: Fear on the Ferris Wheel

/

In another scene from Murder and Marinara, the main character and amateur sleuth, Victoria, is on a date with a man who may be a suspect in the murder she’s investigating. Despite her fear of heights—and boardwalk rides—Vic agrees to join the mysterious Calvin Lockheart on the Ferris Wheel. . .

To my chagrin, there wasn’t much of a line for the Ferris wheel, and before I knew it, I was stepping shakily into an open seat. Cal slid in next to me, and the operator locked the bar into place. I gripped it with both hands. He flashed me a sideways grin. “You okay there?”

I tightened my hands on the bar. “Uh, I’m good, thanks.” I looked over at him with a frozen smile. “It’s not—” I’d been about to say ‘as bad as I thought it would be,’ but then it was. We were lifted up and backward, and I had that familiar dropping sensation that I got on airplanes. The one that made me feel I’d left my stomach somewhere on the ground and that I was flying away without it. My eyes darted for an escape, but Cal put an arm around my shoulders.

“They’re just raising the car to bring the next one up on the platform.” He assumed the slow, gentle tone one might use with a skittish horse, and I frowned at him.

“I said I’m fine, okay?” The car jerked upward, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Oh my God, what the hell are they doing?”

“Victoria, open your eyes. They’re just filling up the cars, is all. Once they do that, we’ll make a couple of nice, slow circles and be back down on the ground before you know it.”

I opened one eye and glared at him with it. “This ride is interminable.” My grip on the bar was so tight I was losing feeling in my hands. I shifted in the seat, which set the car rocking and me wondering whether sausage and onions had been such a good idea. At that moment we began our slow ascent, and my whole body stiffened. Cal tightened his arm around me, but I was too terrified to tell whether or not I enjoyed the feeling. “Uhh, you said you’d distract me. So let’s talk.”

“You got it. But would you mind opening your other eye?” I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“Right. Both eyes open.” Ha, both eyes open—that could be the theme of my investigation.

[Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash]

Goodreads Giveaway!

/

From today through August 1, you can enter for the chance to win one of 100 ebook copies of Murder and Marinara!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Murder and Marinara by Rosie Genova

Murder and Marinara

by Rosie Genova

Giveaway ends August 01, 2021.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Quick Glimpses: A Peek into the Pages of Murder and Marinara

/

The world of the Italian Kitchen Mysteries is grounded in my childhood days at the Jersey shore; it’s also influenced by my love of rustic Italian food and my own experience of working in restaurants. In this peek at the setting, the main character, Victoria Rienzi, is coming back to her family-owned restaurant, the Casa Lido. She meets her brother Danny outside, who holds open the door for her:

“I ducked under his arm through the open door and took a step back into the past. Not just my past, but the past of this place, originating with World War II. As my eyes adjusted to the cool darkness, I saw the dark-paneled walls, the ornately carved bar, the tables with their classic, red-checked tablecloths. My great-grandparents had started with a wooden boardwalk stand that sold sandwiches and ended up building a business that’s been flourishing for seventy-five years. I inhaled the mingled smells of simmering sauce and fresh basil and the licorice scent of the anise flavoring of Nonna’s ricotta cookies. It was a Monday, the only day of the week we were closed, so I knew that sauce was meant for me. From the time I was old enough to set a table, the Casa Lido had been my second home.”

Photo by Kama Tulkibayeva on Unsplash

Photo by Kama Tulkibayeva on Unsplash

Release Day is Here!

/

Just in time for summer reading, the new edition of Murder and Marinara is available today on Amazon. I’m so pleased to be able to offer the eBook through Amazon, with a new paperback version to follow shortly. I’d like to say a big thank-you to all the readers who have asked about the series, and I’m thrilled to be giving it new life. Happy Summer, all!

M&M-Ereader_sideways.jpg

Coming Soon!

/

I’m so pleased to announce that I am re-releasing Book One of my Italian Kitchen Mysteries, Murder and Marinara on June 21—the first day of summer and just in time for beach reading! For new readers, it’s a cozy mystery set in an Italian restaurant at the Jersey shore. Though the book is a slightly updated new edition of Murder and Marinara, the story, setting, and characters remain the same as the original, but with a fresh new look.

The book will be available for pre-order on Amazon later in the week, so stay tuned!