Michael Falco does a great job of immersing you in the world of Positano and the beauty that is the Amalfi Coast. In Murder in an Italian Cafe, we're back with Bria, who's investigating the death of a celebrity chef who died while filming a cooking show in Positano.

While I enjoyed the first book in this series, the sequel was not my favorite. I found this book to be very religion based and some of the dialogue between a 33 year old woman in 2024 seemed incredibly dated. Additionally, the Italian phrases that were heavily sprinkled in, seemed unnecessary. Especially when, in the next line, he would translate the phrase. It seemed a bit redundant and took my out of the scene. Lastly, I found myself more interested in the secondary characters in this book than the main characters. I would love to learn more about Sister B, Enrico and Annamarie. Overall, this is a fun cozy mystery that takes you to the gorgeous Amalfi Coast, but it wasn't my favorite of Falco's.

Thank you to Michael Falco, NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cosy murder mystery. Apparently, it's part of a series but obviously it can also be read as a stand-alone. There was no over-explanation of things that happened in the first book, just enough to understand in general what happened in the previous book, who Bria is and what she's doing in Positano.

The characters were well-developed and I connected to them. The overall story is very well-written, too, which made me think of the book multiple times a day when I wasn't reading it.
There were many plottwists in the story that I did not see coming. Often, murder mysteries - to me - are pretty predictable. This one was not. I look forward to reading more of Falco, maybe even the first book in this series.

The story takes place in a part of Italy I was actually not familiar with. After reading it, I feel like I know the place well. I looked up pictures online of Positano only after finishing the book and the images matched with the descriptions of the village that I had in my mind! Another point for Falco.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! I loved it.

The start of the book was a bit slower than I like a murder book to be... but the way it was written was definitely intriguing. The writing keeps the reader (it definitely did it for me) captivated. I liked how low-anxiety inducing the book was in the most parts.

The plot was clear and had a few twists in the right places - especially the last twist, amazing.

I did at the beginning struggle with the Italian language being intertwined in the dialogue - as a non-Italian speaker/reader it was a bit confusing at time and I felt like I was missing out on certain humour or details (I didn't want to run to Goggle translate all the time). But equally, it did let the reader have a sense of belonging to the plot and the scene that the characters were found at.

The description of scenes and certain localisations was sometimes on the more longer side but that didn't necessarily prevent me from enjoying the book.

I liked the small aspect of romance in the plot and the mention of religion - I think the latter was something that is not often seen in book (specially in the crime genre) and so it was refreshing to read something closer to reality. 'Close to reality'... I think that is something that can be assigned to this book that makes it more unique from the other crime books I have read recently. Although it is fiction (obviously the plot has a lot of coincidences to it) the characters seem very real and very 'cultural' to what they were described as. That is something that made the book very lovable.

All in all, five stars for a cosy and investing murder mystery.

An up-and-coming chef is murdered just after he publishes a cookbook and is about to begin a book tour and cooking show. Bria, along with the police chief Luca, Luca's sister and Bria's best friend Rosalie, and other recurring characters try to solve the mystery, which appears to have its roots in old family secrets and tragedy.

I like Bria's character - her energy, her devotion to her son and her family, her nosiness. The plot is complex with lots of characters and relationships and motives to keep straight, but the author brings the threads together at the very end. The middle of the book dragged for me a bit, as it felt like the story of the chef's family was rehashed multiple times without advancing. The town of Positano is its own character with descriptions of the daily life of its residents mixed in with the tourist factor. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC.

This was a great second book in this cozy mystery series. I love the characters, and the setting is amazing. This was a great mystery , lots of interesting suspects and secrets. I did enjoy the first book more, but recommend both. I am looking forward to the next book already.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Such a good book! Gave me thriller energy and also had some loop wholes. Leaving you wanting to read more type of book. Definitely suggest it.

I thought this book was an excellent follow-up to the first in the series. The mystery kept me engaged and I adored the setting. I will definitely recommend this book/the series in general to any cozy mystery fans. I especially loved it because I have been thinking about going to Italy in the net year! I would definitely add Bria's Bed and Breakfast as a place to stay. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!