Here Comes The Body
A Catering Hall Mystery, Book #1
Maria DiRico
5 Stars

Synopsis:

After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . .

Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and the woman inside fails to jump out . . . because she’s dead.

Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father—especially considering that he and the victim had a previous encounter. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . .

Italian recipes included! (Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Mia is smart, feisty and loyal and she cares a lot about her family and friends. You can tell how much Mia loves her dad and wants him to be on the straight and narrow. She knows he has been part of the “Family” but she wants him to be successful with his new venture. I enjoyed getting to meet the whole cast of characters introduced in this book and cannot wait to spend more time with them.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and those descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. I thought the mystery was well plotted and not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy. With charming characters, and inviting setting, humor and an intriguing mystery, it is a great start to the series. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.




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Dollycas’s Thoughts

Readers are introduced to Mia Carina and her family. She has come home to Queens after her being cleared in her husband’s suspicious death with her cat lovingly named Doorstop. They have moved into her Nonna’s upper apartment. She will be working with her father, former mob enforcer, Ravello Carina, at a business he recently acquired. Belle View is a hot spot for weddings, bachelor parties, and family reunions. Even local support groups meet there.

Mia’s first event is a bachelor party complete with a stripper popping out of a cake. But the woman inside the cake does not “pop” as planned, in fact, the woman inside the cake is not the woman hired for the party but someone who accused Ravello of not paying his debt to her the day before and she won’t be “popping” anywhere. Someone left her dead body along with a check for a million dollars signed by Ravello inside the cake.

The police think the case is a slam-dunk but Mia is determined to prove her dad’s innocence. When a second body is found behind Belle View Mia knows she has to pull out all the stops to keep her dad safe and the business running, even if she needs to reach out to her extended “family”.

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The underlying theme of this series is the mob and its connections to Mia’s family. I thought this may be too heavy of a topic for a cozy mystery but Maria DiRico makes it work with a light tone and a lot of humor, although some of the innuendo does tip over the line just a bit.

The author brings us an Italian family with connections. Mia, glad to be home but not totally sure if her New York family took care of her creep of a husband, Adam Grosso, or not. She was cleared to leave Florida and she did. Working for her father isn’t going to be easy, not because of the mob, but because of the over the top clients and their loony requests. Mia showed more patience than I ever could. She comes up with some great ideas too.

Moving in with her grandmother Elisabetta feels right even though most of her furniture looks like it came from a bordello. Her dad has spent enough time behind bars and promises the Belle View is a legit business. Mia’s brother Posi, is still behind bars but is able to give her some advice as she investigates. She reconnects with her old friend Jamie and old feelings start to immerge until she learns he has a girlfriend. Jaime’s dad is high up in the “organization” though and she just may need his help.

Being the first book in a new series, we get to know the main characters pretty well, but there is a lot of room for growth. My favorite being Nonna Elisabetta. A true Italian believing food can solve any problem. She makes sure Mia is always well fed. She had me grinning ear to ear.

I was captivated by Mia and Jamie’s relationship and am looking forward to how it develops. Will, there be a real romance or will they commit to the “friend zone”? Jamie does remind me a little bit of my son, same name, different spelling 😉

Mia is a smart sleuth. It was fun to tag along with her as she dealt with twist after twist. Sometimes the debut book in a series has a less complex mystery to solve while taking time to fully introduce the cast of characters. That is not the case here at all. The mystery was complex. Every time I thought I had everything all figured out there was a twist that proved me wrong.

The subplots were blended wonderfully into the story. I really appreciated Mia’s huge heart as she dealt with a real estate predator. Nonna’s neighborhood sounded delightful and close-knit and the realtor was really ticking off both me and Mia. Some of Mia’s comebacks were just priceless. The author descriptions of the area painted clear pictures of the homes, right down to the sculptures in the yards and their holiday decorations.

Here Comes the Body has this series off to a fine start. The characters are memorable and feel very true to life. The mystery was well-plotted and interesting with a large dose of humor. There are also some yummy sounding Italian recipes at the back of the book. It truly was an enjoyable getaway!

This is the debut in the new "Catering Hall " Mystery Series by Maria Di Rico. She also writes the award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series under the name Ellen Byron. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. I so enjoy reading new debut cozy mysteries for review and this is a series that I predict will be a long running cozy series. . It is nice to see the series success over time and this will no doubt be a fabulous cozy series. This is a fun series with a great setting and humor .

In this debut of the series we meet our protagonist Mia Carina who just moved back to Astoria, the Queens neighborhood she grew up in. She is newly single and ready to start her new life over with her Grandma and her very large cat, Doorstop, ( Right away I love Mia and Doorstop). , Mia is funny, full of life and a great main charcter in a fun outgoing Italian family. She is starting work in her Father's catering hall . Her Father is quite the charcter and has some shady dealings on the side with his business associates. When a murder occurs at a bachelor party her Father falls under suspicion right away and Mia is determined to save her Father, his business and find the suspect. Mia does not hesitate to take no for an answer and proves to be very adept at asking questions in the community and piecing together clues.. The sleuth is very well crafted with plenty of twist and turns throughout that kept me guessing. I love when I do not guess the ending and this will keep every reader turning pages to conclusion.

I loved this debut . Ellen Byron has long been one of my favorite authors so I was delighted to find out she is writing as the author Maria Di Rico. The story is well crafted, the characters done to perfection and the setting of Queens adds humor and fun to the story. Mia's family and friends add great fun to this series with the background of Queens Italian families written to perfection. I look forward to further adventures of Mia and her family. Very well done to the author. To the publisher please continue this series for cozy readers as we love Mia and her family.

I like nothing better than a humorous romance with “Family “ ties. The family in question are the Ravello’s who’s name sends people rushing to do whatever the old man needs done. A fire in the kitchen no problem a crew shows up the next day,with a new stove on its way soon after. Mia has returned to the fold to insure had dad stays ‘legit’. There are the usual neighborhood’nonnas whose eyes are everywhere in the neighborhood and are on the stomp to stop the gentrification of their beloved street. Belle View is an event center that dad won in a sliding game. Mia’s first event ends with a cake with a corpse inside and sketchy characters attending the party. It seems real estate is at the crux of all the mayhem. Happy reading

I adore this authors other series so I was hoping to love this one too but unfortunately it was not a good fit for me. While I loved the neighborhood, the grandmother, and all the little old ladies around the rest of the story felt like a not great mob movie to me. Parts were just a little too ridiculous to really believe them. I'm hoping that the next book in the series will be a little better.

Mia is different from any main character that I've come across yet in cozies, and I think that's why I like her so much! I love her sass but good attitude toward things. She managed to survive being a suspect in her still-missing husband's death and was happy to be living with her Nonna again in Queens.

I loved seeing Mia and Jamie together even though she tried to make everyone think she didn't have strong feelings for him. Guadalupe and Nonna were two of my favorite characters. It was cool that Guadalupe and another employee Cody were former military which seemed to make for a smooth running catering hall, well until the murder happened. I didn't have any idea who the killer was, and the showdown was really exciting. Being a former mobster's daughter definitely had prepared her for taking care of herself in every emergency. The most unlikely person came to her assistance, and I wonder if this person will be back as a new friend.

The way the book ended (no cliffhangers, no worries) made me anxious to read the next one. I loved that Mia seemed to be embracing everything stereotypical about her dad's former life if people wanted to buy into that. If it sells the banquet space....;)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Mia Carina is ready for a new chapter after her cheating husband goes missing/maybe dead and the police took a look at her for disappearing him. Leaving Florida behind she arrives back home in Queens, NY and joins her father in his new, legit (maybe) business, Belle View Banquet Manor. Mob free, all on the up and up except that the business is owned by his old Mob Boss. Mia puts together a bachelor party, complete with a stripper jumping out of a cake. Only the stripper isn't the right stripper and she's not popping out due to being very dead. It isn't long before Mia's father lands at the top of the suspect list. If that isn't bad enough, another body turns up and Mia has lots of reason to try to figure out who dunnit.
I was aware that this was a debut mystery written by Ellen Byron and, having enjoyed her Cajun Country series and was so glad that I was able to get an advance copy. I have put it on my list of must be read series. The plot was solid and the characters were wonderful, especially Mia's Nonna. Then there is her ginger Abyssinian cat named Doorstop. What a name. Add to all of it, Ellen Byron learned the catering business from Martha Stewart back in the early days and can be seen on page 29 of Martha Stewart's first book, Entertaining. This mystery has it all and I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store for Mia and her colorful family.I'll place a bet that it won't be boring.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Mia Carina leaves Florida after her husband goes missing. She is accused of doing something to create his disappearance. Since her father is an alleged mobster, all fingers are pointed in her direction, but without proof she is free to return to her family home in Queens, New York. Her father is managing a catering hall called Belle View and Mia is ready to help his business.

At Mia’s first event - a bachelor party - things don’t go as planned. When the big cake - complete with a stripper - is brought in, nobody jumps out. Mia looks for herself and discovers a dead woman in the cake. A woman who is connected to her father. The police immediately jump to the conclusion that Mia’s dad murdered the woman. It’s up to Mia to prove them wrong.

This story is off to a rousing start. There’s action, humor, mystery and a huge cast of quirky characters. The story moves at a fast pace. It kept me laughing and guessing until the end. I was engrossed in the plot until the wee hours of the night. I, also, enjoyed the setting as I’m a native New York and the author’s descriptions made me feel as if I was in the center of the story.

I’m so looking forward to the next book in this fun series.

What a good start for a new series. I read other books by this author under another name so I knew that she's a talented storyteller and this story confirmed my ideas.
Great cast of characters, well crafted plot and a solid mystery that kept me hooked.
Can't wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book is for the die-hard cozy mystery fans. If you are one of them and are on the lookout for the latest oddball situation which is rife with potential for chaos, this has it all. It has a family with ties to the Family and all other mob-related conversation. Our amateur sleuth is Mia Carina, recently (supposed) widow and persecuted witness who has fled back home to Queens, NY and to make her father set up a legal Function hall business and run it. She has ideas and enthusiasm, and unfortunately, she also is primed to face all kinds of setbacks. 

The first of many is a dead body in a cake and the woman was last seen hurling accusations at her father. With his previous convictions and known mob affiliations, he is also the main focus of the police investigation. Then in a very obvious continuation of the story, Mia takes on the charge to find the true culprit. She has a little help and a whole lot of distractions, but she works on it bit by bit and actually just stumbles on the final piece of the puzzle. There are some high tension situations but the best factor of the story, and hopefully, the rest of the series is the supporting cast. From the spunky grandmother to the shady realtor, from the bookish childhood ex to the new neighbours and others throw so much colour into the story that despite not really digging into the plot of the murder itself, I enjoyed the time I spent with them all.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is solely based on my own reading experience.

Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico has Mia Carina returning to Queens for a fresh start. She is thankful to no longer be under suspicion for her husband’s disappearance. Mia will be working for her father as assistant manager at Belle View Catering Hall. Ravello Carina, Mia’s father, is taking a stab at running a legit business which pleases Mia. Mia’s first event is a bachelor party with a woman popping out of a cake. Things go sideways when they find a woman who threatened Ravello a few days earlier inside the cake with a knife sticking out of her chest. With Ravello as the police’s prime suspect, Mia begins searching for the real culprit. Here Comes the Body is the exciting debut of A Catering Hall Mystery series. Mia Carina has had a rough time recently with her husband disappearing and the police accusing her of offing him (her family has a reputation). She is glad to be back in Astoria with her family. Mia can visit her brother, Posi during visiting hours at Triborough Correctional Facility where the guards know the family by name. Mia will be working at Belle View Catering Hall which a man gave up to cover his gambling debts. Ravello, Mia’s father, is the manager and Mia will be handling events. Belle View is run down and needs a facelift (get rid of the 80s vibe). Mia has not been home a week when a body if found inside a cake. Someone is framing Ravello and Mia does not appreciate it. She begins questioning attendees of the bachelor party in hopes of narrowing in on the killer. The mystery had several viable suspects. I had a good time following Mia on her quest to clear her father’s name. I thought Here Comes the Body contained good writing, interesting characters and humor. I laughed several times while reading. I loved Mia’s grandmother, Elisabetta Carina. She is an Italian grandmother who makes mouthwatering dishes. The ladies on her block compete to have the best decorations for each holiday (and other things as well). There are a couple of side stories as well. A greedy realtor is trying to get senior citizens to sell their homes and move into an assisted living facility. 46th Place is the new hot area where people want to take the homes, gut them and modernize them. Something is going on with Evans, the sous chef, as well. Cozy mystery readers will be delighted with Here Comes the Body which is written by Ellen Byron under the pen name Maria DiRico. Here Comes the Body is a humorous & intriguing cozy mystery with a murdered moll, a vanished feathered friend, transportation troubles, frightful free furniture, a relentless reporter, and a matchmaking mobster.

This is the first book in the Catering Hall mystery series. Mia Carina has come back to Queens, NY after the disappearance of her cheating husband in a boating accident in Florida. She is running the Bell View, a catering hall, with her father, Ravello. During Mia's first event a body turns up in the giant cake with a check written by Mia's father. The police immediately suspect Ravello because of his not so legal past. Mia is determined to prove her father is innocent.

This had everything I love in a cozy mystery. It had great characters, humor, and great setting, and a well crafted mystery. The characters were well written. I absolutely loved Mia's Nonna and her friends. They added so much humor to the book along with Mia's brother wanting to become another hot convict . The depictions of the culture and the setting of the book were perfect. The mystery was well woven. There were numerous suspects but I didn't figure out who the killer was until the end. I actually liked that character. There were recipes at the end which I always enjoy. This is definitely a series that I will be looking for more in. It was that good.

Messina (Mia) Carina returned to Queens from Florida after her no-good husband disappeared in a boating accident leaving her a widow...maybe or maybe not (? She was eventually cleared of being a suspect in his disappearance). She joined her dad, former mafioso, who is trying to go legit with the Belle View Banquet Manor in Astoria (NYC) near La Guardia Airport. She will function as his event planner/salesperson.

Mia shares her upstairs quarters with the Abyssinian cat she named Doorstop. The cat's name is just one of the subtle shades of humor sprinkled liberally through this delightful romp into a catering business backed by a "Godfather."

The support characters are full of personality and utterly engaging. Genuinely Italian, the author develops her grandmother beautifully, right down to "hi...are you hungry?" She is close friends with Jamie (another mob child) but dismayed to discover he has a girlfriend. Her brother, Posi, is cooling his heels in the slammer.

The body found in the cake at the bachelor's party wasn't the stripper but definitely wouldn't be jumping out of anything anymore. Unfortunately, there is an apparent connection to her dad and his reputation precedes him, so the police are quick to jump in his direction.

Mia is effective in her position and able to satisfy even the most outrageous requests. I really liked the characters of Jamie and Nonna, and the inclusion of the Mafia connections was handled delicately. The police in charge of the investigation bumbles along, an old device in cozies and one of my few complaints.

The well-plotted mystery sped up heading into the conclusion and included a rather hair-raising climax although I must admit the final reveal set my head spinning.

I was given this digital ARC download in exchange for an honest review and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read. This is going to be a fun and entertaining series with a compelling setting that I'm looking forward to continuing. Recommended to those who enjoy a good cozy. 4.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book. Here Comes the Body is the great beginning to a new series. The characters, both pleasant and unpleasant, help to move the story forward. I really wanted to know who had killed the woman found dead at the bachelor party, there was a wide variety of suspects. Also, Mia's background story is interesting. The book is well written and I was hooked from the first pages. More please!

Here Comes the Body by Maria DiRico (aka Ellen Byron) is the first in the A Catering Hall Mystery series and is a great start.
Mia and her cat have returned home to Queens from Florida following the death of her cheating husband. She has moved into the upstairs apartment of her Nonna's and taken the managers job at her father's new venture of a catering hall.
During the first venture for her, a bachelor party, a body appears in the oversized cake and the signs are pointing at her Dad. But are the clues too obvious. Mia knows in her heart he didn't do it but getting the answers she needs proves not that easy.
The story has plenty of mystery, humor, great characters, and family. There are recipes included.
I am already excited for the next in the series.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I did not finish this book, so my opinion is on the first part of the book that I read. I want to offer some warning to cozy mystery readers who don't like sexual content in the cozies they read.

I got about 14% through the book, and I ran into several passages that were uncomfortable due to the content even to me. What I mean by that is that I'd never hand this book to my 74 year old mom to read. I use her as a moral compass when I read cozy mystery books. If I can't give it to mom, it's not very "cozy." Now some cozy mystery books have mild language in them, and I'm fine with them. My mom, however, has said in the past that a book had a lot of bad language when I didn't think it did. I guess it's because I read all genres and may skim over mild swearing. But this wasn't even the issue with this book for me.

For example, the bachelor party scene...someone in the book has taken a napkin folding class and is making a pyramid with the napkins. Well, they turn out looking like part of a woman's body. When she says that, I'm thinking okay, maybe they look like breasts. A little further on one of the characters happily says that they look like a woman's va...

And that's just one sexual content example in the first 14% of the book. That's just not my idea of cozy mystery book content.

I received a copy of this free from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Here come the kudos for the new Catering Hall Mystery series by Maria DiRico (pen name of author Ellen Byron). This first novel, Here Comes the Body, serves up a story that is sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, but always entertaining.

Mia Carina returns to her hometown in Queens to help her father, Ravello, a reputed former mobster, run Belle View, an upscale catering hall. But her first assignment, a bachelor party, becomes a disaster when a call girl with purported connections to her father is found dead inside the large-scale model cake. Not surprisingly, the police latch on to Ravello as the prime suspect and are unwilling to consider the possibility that he is innocent. In order to clear her father’s name and the reputation of the catering hall, Mia must find the perpetrator.

What I loved most about this story is, well, everything. As a mystery, Here Comes the Body is top-notch. Mia is a strong, clever woman, with an endearing empathetic side. She’s the kind of person who will tamp down her own fears in order to fight for what’s right. Her journey to exonerate her father is multi-faceted, with enough twists and turns – and interesting settings – to keep the reader entertained and guessing until the end. And, although the book is not set in a small town (as are most cozy mysteries), the city here takes on a life of its own, bringing a breath of refreshing realism into the story. And the mob connection, while not overdone, often provides a touch of humor.

The characters, too, are fresh and appealing. From her Nonna, the perfect Italian grandmother, to Ravello and his quest to go “legit,” from her imprisoned brother, Posi, and his attempt to gain social media stardom, to the reporter who doggedly pursues Mia, the story is peppered with characters destined to touch your heart. Even the pets take a turn to shine. The subplot featuring Mia’s missing bird, Pizzazz, is one of the best parts of the book, as are Mia’s heartfelt interactions with the pet bereavement group who meets regularly at the catering hall.

With its New York setting and its mobster connections, Here Comes the Body offers a new and exciting spin on the cozy mystery. But at its heart, the book packs a punch where it counts, delivering an intriguing mystery and a compelling protagonist. I am so looking forward to the second book in this innovative new series.

Note: I received an ARC of Here Comes the Body from NetGalley and Kensington Books. The above is my honest review.

A cozy mystery with the family of a mobster as the center of the story....that's a really original story line. I love cozy mysteries and this one is a good one. As our heroine returns home to help her family's business, she finds herself in the middle of an investigation that may include her own family. This was a fun, entertaining read that kept the story moving quickly, no slow chapters here. Now I'm going to see what else Maria DiRico has written and add them to my TBR pile!

Here Comes the Body is the first book in the new series, A Catering Hall Mystery, written by Maria DiRico, a pseudonym for author Ellen Byron.

This series centers around the protagonist, Mia Carina and her family. After her philandering husband’s boat went down in Florida, she returns home to Queens to help with her family’s new business. Being the daughter of former mobster, Ravello Carina, we are never quite sure what the family business is up to.

Mia has come home to run Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more. Everything is moving along perfectly, until a dead body is located in the pop out cake at the bachelor party being hosted at Belle View.

With signs pointing to Ravello as the murder, Mia is forced with the task of proving her father’s innocence and finding the true murdered before they find her.

This book is so well written. From the details of the plot to the development of the characters, this is one heck of a way to kick off a new series. The Carina Family are a cast of characters all in itself. Being of Italian descent, I could totally appreciate the family bond. I have a “nonna” who is 95 years young and is still as feisty as they come.

I am looking forward to Mia and the family’s next adventure!!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the author and digital copy for review from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp.

This book is set to release on February 25, 2020 and is available for preorder.

First in a new series, A Catering Hall Mystery, Here Comes the Body is written by Maria DiRico, a pseudonym for author Ellen Byron.

I love Ellen’s work. I was so happy to get an advanced copy from Netgalley.
The setting is Astoria, Queens, New York City. I grew up in Orange County, New York and am familiar with NYC. I enjoyed the mafiaso background, references to Long Island, and other familiar things.

Mia is recently widowed, at least she thinks so. She returns from Palm Gardens, Florida, another area I am familiar with, to work at her father’s catering hall. During Mia’s first catering event, a dead stripper is in the cake at the bachelor’s party. Dad is a suspect. Mia investigates.

I loved Mia’s supporting cast. This is well-written, has good characters, and plenty of plot twists.
I can’t say enough good things about this story.

I am not required to leave a positive review.