The Witless Protection Program by Maria DiRico

Item: The Witless Protection Program
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted April 1, 2024 by karenbaron in #BookishRecipe, Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Review, Series / 1 Comment

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Witless Protection Program

by Maria DiRico

Series: Catering Hall Mystery #5
Series Rating:

Published by Kensington Cozies on March 26, 2024
Setting: Queens, New York
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 264
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Books-A-Million, BookShop.org, Nook
Also in this series: Here Comes the Body , Long Island Iced Tina, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder , Four Parties and a Funeral

In the fifth Catering Hall Mystery by Agatha Award-winning author Maria DiRico, series sleuth Mia Carina has finally steered her Italian-American family’s catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor, into becoming the premiere party site of Astoria, Queens. Now if only her presumed dead ex-husband would get out of the way...

A strong, independent woman and respected entrepreneur, Mia never imagined she’d pine for a marriage proposal. Yet lately, with her beloved Shane, she’s on tenterhooks. It’s especially surprising, considering Mia’s first husband, Adam, was a philandering grifter, assumed lost-at-sea after a boating disaster. But everyone knows what happens when you assume . . .

While working a huge wedding expo in Manhattan, Mia is shocked to spot the man who nearly destroyed her life. The one who’s supposed to be sleeping with the fishes. But she loses him in the crowd. And when it happens again the next day, it’s time for an emergency meeting with the family—and the Family. Because if Adam is alive, Mia is still married . . .

Everyone wants Adam dead. Everyone except Mia. She’s dealt with enough police for a lifetime. Mia needs to be a divorcée, not a widow. But someone out there disagrees, and if Mia doesn’t discover who, she may never be free to marry Shane—or anyone else . . .

The Witless Protection Program by Maria DiRico sees Mia and Shane getting engaged and planning the wedding. The only problem is that Adam seems to still be alive.

Can Mia finally divorce Adam and marry the man of her dreams?

Mia has finally gotten engaged to Shane, and they are happy. Well, that is until she realizes, after the second sighting, that Adam is indeed still alive and not dead in the water like he led her to believe. Now, she and Shane need to convince him to divorce her so they can marry. I genuinely love Mia and Shane together, and I think that they are perfect for each other. Mia and Shane deserve a happily ever after together.

The Mystery

Mia Carina’s biggest mystery is how to find Adam Grosso so she can get a divorce from him and move on with her life. Moving on means she wants to marry Shane by the date they both have already picked out. The biggest problem is, sadly, locating the guy so that this can happen. Things don’t always go to plan for Mia, and she ends up finding a dead body. I figured out who did it, or at least a few people with a good motive, and I kept hemming and hawing over this one person. I was right about who did it! Sadly I didn’t have to motive though.

Five Stars

I am giving five stars to The Witless Protection Program by Maria DiRico and recommend it to anyone who loves a good, cozy culinary mystery. Ms. DiRico has a great way of telling the story with these characters, and I feel like I’m right there with them, solving a mystery and eating some good Italian food. I have to say that I love this series, and I can’t wait to see what else she does with these characters.

Oh, and don’t forget to look at the recipes in the back of the book. The recipes are Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina, Ricotta Sugar Cookies and Glazed Icing, Breakfast Pasta, and Italian Wedding Cake.

A Catering Hall Mystery

Tour Giveaway

Prize: 3 Print Copies of The Witless Protection Program (A Catering Hall Mystery) by Maria DiRico. US AND CANADA ONLY

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Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

About Maria DiRico

Maria DiRico was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is a first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances. She also writes the award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series under the name Ellen Byron.

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