Death of an Italian Chef review

Can you believe this is the fourteenth book in the Hayley Powell series? I hope it goes on for a long time because I’m having such a good time reading it. I’m keeping up with new releases via ARCs from NetGalley while still having some of the previous books to read. With this fun series, I’m surprisingly okay with that though. This clever series is the brainchild of brother/sister writing team Lee Hollis aka Rick Copp and Holly Simason. Guys, please keep writing about Hayley!  Just a weird thought I had. I wonder if some of the awesome Hayley/Randy or Gemma/Dustin moments came from things they remembered doing as kids.

This book was just as hilarious as I’ve come to expect from some of my most favorite cozy mystery characters. The guy who died was in the book just long enough that I actually felt bad about someone killing him. I guess I was picturing him as a favorite old Italian comic actor. I’m sure most everyone is too young to remember Dom DeLuise, but Chef Romeo made me think of him which was why I hated to see the chef get murdered. But there were tons of secrets that a lot of people had, including the chef, so you’ll just have to dig into this book when it’s published next week and find out what was up with all those great side stories in the book as well as the main mystery. You won’t be disappointed! And if you like Italian food, you’re going to be hungry for that too.

My Goodreads review:

Death of an Italian Chef by Lee Hollis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh boy, the trouble a brother and sister can get into when their loved ones are out of town, lol. Hayley and Randy were on their own, and since crazy stuff always follows our awesome Hayley, she found herself involved in a murder investigation of a chef who she’d been helping with his restaurant while he was in the hospital. The worst part was that Sergio was in Brazil, and a no-nonsense skeptical-of- anything-Hayley-told-her sergeant was in charge.

One hilarious part was Donnie and Earl following her around like lovesick puppies. Bruce was on a story in New York, but he still helped with the investigation by researching for Hayley, while she saw herself coming and going with the restaurant and a very demanding Randy recovering from surgery. That led to another funny scene when Mona babysat him. Mona was also a hoot as a waitress at the Italian restaurant, kind of a similar performance to when she subbed in a play last Christmas.

I love this series so much because we’re always presented with a fun rollercoaster of an investigation with so many madcap situations Hayley and crew find themselves in. From wild side stories about the mob and someone’s affair to the actual heart and reason of the murder, I know I’m always guaranteed a good exciting showdown. And there was a pretty awesome twist to this one which led to a great ending and new adventure coming for Hayley and her friends and family. Don’t miss this when it comes out next Tuesday!

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

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