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Marry, Kiss, Kill
In this debut mystery set in Santa Barbara, movie stars are in town for the film festival, powerful business interests are at stake, and detective Nola MacIntire and her partner, Tony Angelotti, must solve the complicated puzzle behind three seemingly unrelated deaths in this idyllic beach town. This mystery has got it snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and a captivating web of intrigue to untangle.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
September 13, 2025
Not being a huge fan of the genre of mysteries, I picked this up anyway after several friends recommended it highly, and I do not regret it.
I won’t delve into the plot, as it is readily available online or embedded in other reviews. But I will say just the basics: that it is set in Santa Barbara during a film festival, and involves the murder of a beloved fixture, a homeless man known as Charly. The two main characters, Detectives Nola MacIntyre and Ton Angelotti, perfectly complement each other with witty, snappy dialogue which is downright hilarious at times. It had me laughing aloud several times. The plot is also well-stocked with complicated plot twists which I never saw coming.
The book does read a bit like a TV movie script, but that’s not surprising considering that the author is a screenwriter. This was a quick, enjoyable read and quite a decent whodunit for a debut novel.
I won’t delve into the plot, as it is readily available online or embedded in other reviews. But I will say just the basics: that it is set in Santa Barbara during a film festival, and involves the murder of a beloved fixture, a homeless man known as Charly. The two main characters, Detectives Nola MacIntyre and Ton Angelotti, perfectly complement each other with witty, snappy dialogue which is downright hilarious at times. It had me laughing aloud several times. The plot is also well-stocked with complicated plot twists which I never saw coming.
The book does read a bit like a TV movie script, but that’s not surprising considering that the author is a screenwriter. This was a quick, enjoyable read and quite a decent whodunit for a debut novel.
October 27, 2015
This was a likeable book with witty dialogue and wise cracking characters. As a mystery, it didn't have me on the edge of my seat or particularly intrigued by the whodunnit aspects. But it was fun to read and had some clever turns of phrase that made it more interesting. It was full of current products and trends that felt a bit like 'name dropping' but I think that gave it a bit of a new vibe too. If this is the start of a series, I don't see myself reaching for the sequel, but maybe if I need something to read on the trail that I can justify ripping out the pages I've already read to save weight...well, maybe.
July 29, 2015
www.thenextgoodbook.com
Marry, Kiss, Kill by Anne Flett-Giordano
297 pages
What’s it about?
This is a classic, murder-mystery written by an interesting first time author.
What did I think?
I liked it. It was a good whodunit. It would be a great vacation book. What sets it apart is Giordano’s writing. Her characters and observations are clever and contemporary.
Should you read it?
Anne Flett- Giordano is an Emmy winning television-writer with credits on Frasier, Hot in Cleveland, Becker and Desperate Housewives. The plot was pretty good and the characters were interesting. Ms. Giordano’s turn of phrase is really amusing. Sometimes I felt she could scale back the clever a little- but overall it was good. I enjoyed it and will look forward to the next book in the series.
Quote-
“She’d pushed it to the back of her mind at twenty-eight, rationalized it at thirty, and tried to broker peace with it at thirty-two, but on the eve of her thirty-seventh birthday, her eyes welled up when she passed the pretzel place that had once been her favorite Betsey Johnson store. Nola had long ago transitioned from Betsey’s colorful hooker couture into Tommy Hilfiger’s All-American Girl, which she could already feel morphing into Donna Karan, the last stop on the road to Chico’s and death. Even the luckiest Cinderella only go one shot at her twenties.”
Question?
Was the plot or the language the star of this book?
If you like this try-
Mysteries-
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
In the Woods by Tana French
Clever writing-
2 AM at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Marry, Kiss, Kill by Anne Flett-Giordano
297 pages
What’s it about?
This is a classic, murder-mystery written by an interesting first time author.
What did I think?
I liked it. It was a good whodunit. It would be a great vacation book. What sets it apart is Giordano’s writing. Her characters and observations are clever and contemporary.
Should you read it?
Anne Flett- Giordano is an Emmy winning television-writer with credits on Frasier, Hot in Cleveland, Becker and Desperate Housewives. The plot was pretty good and the characters were interesting. Ms. Giordano’s turn of phrase is really amusing. Sometimes I felt she could scale back the clever a little- but overall it was good. I enjoyed it and will look forward to the next book in the series.
Quote-
“She’d pushed it to the back of her mind at twenty-eight, rationalized it at thirty, and tried to broker peace with it at thirty-two, but on the eve of her thirty-seventh birthday, her eyes welled up when she passed the pretzel place that had once been her favorite Betsey Johnson store. Nola had long ago transitioned from Betsey’s colorful hooker couture into Tommy Hilfiger’s All-American Girl, which she could already feel morphing into Donna Karan, the last stop on the road to Chico’s and death. Even the luckiest Cinderella only go one shot at her twenties.”
Question?
Was the plot or the language the star of this book?
If you like this try-
Mysteries-
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
In the Woods by Tana French
Clever writing-
2 AM at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
October 5, 2015
Light enough for "beach read," but this book delivers at a much higher level with mystery, quirky characters, and humor. From the cover and content, it's probably not marketed to a middle-aged men (aka me), but I would have missed out if I didn't grab this from our book pile. (It helps that I am still in my "female author challenge" so I'm not afraid to pick up a book that looks like it leans toward "chick lit" marketing.)
There are only two elements that didn't work for me: 1) The font was distracting (e.g. diamond shaped periods which look worse in question-mark form). It's like the evil cousin of comic sans. Luckily, I read most of this book in relatively low light, so I tried to overlook the physical form of the text. and 2) The whole MKK game also appears as a graphic representation at times in the book, but these moments didn't seem to fit with the game, but simply highlight times when one of the three options was happening or would be happening soon. It seems like this should only be used when there is a trio of people that the author (or reader) would decide what should happen to each character. Even though this is the title, the story is strong enough to overlook this central element of the book and enjoy it for the characters, humor, and writing.
Grab this book for your next trip.
There are only two elements that didn't work for me: 1) The font was distracting (e.g. diamond shaped periods which look worse in question-mark form). It's like the evil cousin of comic sans. Luckily, I read most of this book in relatively low light, so I tried to overlook the physical form of the text. and 2) The whole MKK game also appears as a graphic representation at times in the book, but these moments didn't seem to fit with the game, but simply highlight times when one of the three options was happening or would be happening soon. It seems like this should only be used when there is a trio of people that the author (or reader) would decide what should happen to each character. Even though this is the title, the story is strong enough to overlook this central element of the book and enjoy it for the characters, humor, and writing.
Grab this book for your next trip.
August 10, 2015
This could have been a 4 star book if Anne Flett-Giordano, TV writer extraordinaire going by her book blurbs, hadn't tried so hard.
Full of product placement, song lyrics, name dropping, pop culture referencing tidbits that did nothing but clutter up a great story, F-Giordano should have left her TV writers hat hanging back at her office while she wrote her first mystery at home.
The story (and series) seems to have good bones and could really work IMHO if the clutter was culled away. Main character Nola McIntire and her partner,Tony Angellotti are likeable. F-Giordano's writing is snappy and the story keeps moving at a good pace. I really did like it I just couldn't get past the overkill. Plus there's this whole quirky thing she does with italics in the first part of the book that is forgotten in the second half that her editors should have caught and corrected...am I being to picky???
This is not a cozy mystery by any means so it's not a book for everyone. If you liked Beat the Reaper or The Intern's Handbook or watched Psych, Frasier or Desperate Housewives then you really will like MARRY, KISS, KILL.
Full of product placement, song lyrics, name dropping, pop culture referencing tidbits that did nothing but clutter up a great story, F-Giordano should have left her TV writers hat hanging back at her office while she wrote her first mystery at home.
The story (and series) seems to have good bones and could really work IMHO if the clutter was culled away. Main character Nola McIntire and her partner,Tony Angellotti are likeable. F-Giordano's writing is snappy and the story keeps moving at a good pace. I really did like it I just couldn't get past the overkill. Plus there's this whole quirky thing she does with italics in the first part of the book that is forgotten in the second half that her editors should have caught and corrected...am I being to picky???
This is not a cozy mystery by any means so it's not a book for everyone. If you liked Beat the Reaper or The Intern's Handbook or watched Psych, Frasier or Desperate Housewives then you really will like MARRY, KISS, KILL.
November 9, 2015
A lot of very bad language. Very bad language, to women and about women, which is always a surprise when written by a woman. And it wasn't necessary, since the book would have been fine without it. When she used the VERY BAD WORD to describe a women, I was done. No matter how good the book is, it is not worth it, to overlook the language. Therefore I give it 1 star, since I didn't finish the book, due to the offensive language.
August 30, 2017
It...was fine. Written by the writer of Frasier and Desperate Housewives, I wish the author had a better hold of the line between feminine and feminist. I am all for both, but this felt so cliched sometimes that I just wanted to shake the main character and say "It doesn't matter what your hair looks like right now because you are solving a murder." And I think she thinks she's funnier than she is. But the rest was fine. Not a rave review, I know.
March 5, 2015
Marry, Kiss, Kill is a chick lit type mystery with a bit of fun! I enjoyed the exploits of Santa Barbara detectives Nola and Tony. As the deaths piled up, this whodunit kept me guessing while also keeping me entertained with bits of wit and humor. After a satisfying ending, I look forward to more of Nola and Tony's adventures.
April 14, 2015
Loved this book I laughed ,I chuckled and I laughed some more. Fun and funny read that kept me guessing...
January 1, 2016
I picked up this book because of the blurbs.
This is the first in a series, I'd be interested in read more!
This is the first in a series, I'd be interested in read more!
January 8, 2016
Great first book. Lots of fun and plenty of red herrings. Will definitely look for her next book.
January 19, 2017
An enjoyable, breezy tale of triple murder, with laughs. Perfect for the beach.
August 10, 2020
Although there were things that grated with me like the 40 year old woman obsessed with her physical appearance and superficial approach to dating and relationships, the actual crime plot was solid and enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd read more in this series but this was well above a cozy mystery.
February 23, 2015
On the night of an important film festival in Santa Barbara, a friendly street performer was murdered on the local street. SBPD detective Nola MacIntire and her partner, Tony Angelllotti were assigned to the case and investigating when a second death occurred the next day. This time the deceased was a local businessman in financial trouble and the apparent cause was suicide. However the 2 detectives started investigating and soon believed that it was in fact a murder.
Then the following day a local psychologist, who worked with PTSD patients at a local air force base, was found dead in a ravine. Three deaths in three days was unusual in Santa Barbara and the local officials were anxious to get the mysteries of why they happened solved. They had to calm the visitors who flock to the area annually.
Nola and Tony engaged the help of a police computer specialist and were able to solve the mysteries by connecting the three deaths to a single event.
This is a page turner that geared to women. There are many cultural and social references (e.g. Christian Lobouttin shoes, Birkin handbag, Pharell lyrics) that would be meaningless to someone unfamiliar with the media and the fashion blogs.
Then the following day a local psychologist, who worked with PTSD patients at a local air force base, was found dead in a ravine. Three deaths in three days was unusual in Santa Barbara and the local officials were anxious to get the mysteries of why they happened solved. They had to calm the visitors who flock to the area annually.
Nola and Tony engaged the help of a police computer specialist and were able to solve the mysteries by connecting the three deaths to a single event.
This is a page turner that geared to women. There are many cultural and social references (e.g. Christian Lobouttin shoes, Birkin handbag, Pharell lyrics) that would be meaningless to someone unfamiliar with the media and the fashion blogs.
August 26, 2015
Written by someone who also writes for TV, this mystery is a romp -- funny, bright, very contemporary. The main character, Nola, is a 30-ish police detective who is almost as concerned with her body and her wardrobe as she is with the crimes she is investigating. The witty repartee with her partner (and former lover) Tony is enjoyable throughout, echoing conversations between friends who know each other completely and still value each other. Together, Nola and Tony investigate one murder, then a second, and even a third -- and while the reader knows who has killed victim number 2, the killers of the others remain obscure and the relationships among the three murders murky. The plot includes environmentalists, the very rich and sometimes famous, a street musician, and the military -- and lots of chuckling for the reader as he or she goes along for the ride. If you're looking for a breezy mystery set in sunny Santa Barbara, try this one. This would be a fun one for book clubs which don't take themselves too seriously.
June 30, 2015
I liked this enough so I'll probably read the next in the series, but not enough for me eagerly to anticipate the next. Maybe 2 1/2 would be a better rating. Santa Barbara cop Nola MacIntire is shaken by the first corpse, a popular street singer who seems to have no enemies. Then a wealthy man who has lost his money is found dead, an apparent suicide. Nola suspects his beautiful trophy wife. The third dead man is an accident victim, but he's strangely linked to the second death. The city fathers want the whole thing cleared up pronto, to protect the film festival taking place in their city. And this only scratches the surface of what's going on in this busy debut.
August 17, 2015
This mystery was a quick, fun ride, and thoroughly enjoyable. Det. Nola MacIntyre and Det. Tony Angelotti are partners in Tinseltown, with something resembling a close sibling relationship. No topic is off limits between these two, which makes for witty interplay and an enviable friendship with no sexual tension whatsoever. They are also great at solving crimes together.
This author is a screenwriter/producer (Frasier, Desperate Housewives), so it's no surprise that while reading this book I could see it (in my head) onscreen. Rather than reminding me of other books, this mystery reminded me more of "NCIS" (Tony and Zeva, without the tension), and "The West Wing" (Josh and C.J)
This author is a screenwriter/producer (Frasier, Desperate Housewives), so it's no surprise that while reading this book I could see it (in my head) onscreen. Rather than reminding me of other books, this mystery reminded me more of "NCIS" (Tony and Zeva, without the tension), and "The West Wing" (Josh and C.J)
August 24, 2015
Certainly a lively plot, but Flett-Giordano tries a bit too hard for the sparkling repartee and Chandler-esque "crackin' wise, see?" dialogue--it gets annoying. Example: one character makes a tasteless remark and another comments that it was offensive "like dry-swallowing an elephant tranquilizer." Or "The sex that night was baby-bear's-bed good." Classic mixed one: "she was stumbling like a new-born colt after a couple of martinis." Colts? Martinis? Really?
Bodies end up everywhere, and character development is heavily of the "tell, don't show" variety, but it would be an entertaining book to find in a summer rental.
Bodies end up everywhere, and character development is heavily of the "tell, don't show" variety, but it would be an entertaining book to find in a summer rental.
September 28, 2015
3.5 stars
With its snappy dialogue and cinematic scenes, Marry Kiss Kill (Prospect Park Books, digital galley) reads like a rom-com caper TV movie -- no surprise since author Anne Flett-Giordano's writing and producing credits include Frasier and Hot in Cleveland. With the glitzy Santa Barbara film festival as backdrop, police detective Nola MacIntire and her partner, Tony Angellotti, try to solve the case of a murdered street artist while also looking into the suspicious death of a wealthy businessman. Nothing especially original here, but appealing characters and a spritz of name-dropping make for fast-paced fun.
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
With its snappy dialogue and cinematic scenes, Marry Kiss Kill (Prospect Park Books, digital galley) reads like a rom-com caper TV movie -- no surprise since author Anne Flett-Giordano's writing and producing credits include Frasier and Hot in Cleveland. With the glitzy Santa Barbara film festival as backdrop, police detective Nola MacIntire and her partner, Tony Angellotti, try to solve the case of a murdered street artist while also looking into the suspicious death of a wealthy businessman. Nothing especially original here, but appealing characters and a spritz of name-dropping make for fast-paced fun.
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
October 27, 2015
This was a likeable book with witty dialogue and wise cracking characters. As a mystery, it didn't have me on the edge of my seat or particularly intrigued by the whodunnit aspects. But it was fun to read and had some clever turns of phrase that made it more interesting. It was full of current products and trends that felt a bit like 'name dropping' but I think that gave it a bit of a new vibe too. If this is the start of a series, I don't see myself reaching for the sequel, but maybe if I need something to read on the trail that I can justify ripping out the pages I've already read to save weight...well, maybe.
July 23, 2015
Detectives Nolan MacIntire and her partner Tony are investigating these three seemingly unrelated murders within the ocean beach community of Santa Barbara during their music festival. Anne uses an interesting, humorous and very witty writing style that gets your thoughts too wonder, that you're still reading about a murder mystery.
August 21, 2015
Fun book! I'm glad it's part of a series. The writing is a faster pace, like the banter of television. This isn't surprising considering the writer has TV experience. She also does a good job of capturing Santa Barbara, the proximity to LA but totally different vibe. I won this book on GoodReads and now I have a new series to follow.
August 10, 2015
Movie stars are in town for the film festival, powerful business interests are at stake and detective Nola MacIntire and her partner Tony Angelotti must solve the complicated puzzle behind three seemingly unrelated deaths.
This is author Anne Flett-Giordano's first mystery. Can't wait for her next one.
This is author Anne Flett-Giordano's first mystery. Can't wait for her next one.
September 5, 2015
Fun, frothy and well-written. It would be nice to read a book with a female protagonist who wasn't constantly harping on those 5 pounds she needs to lose (to be a size 4) or her "old age" when she's 37. And the character was supposed to be smart. But, the story was fun, the writing flowed, and it's the end of the summer. So 3 stars.
June 28, 2015
3.5 stars
I have to say, I did have several occurrences of outright laughter while reading this book - kinda like Stephanie Plum back in the early days. There's enough variety in the eras of humor that most would find some to enjoy. I would definitely read any follow up novels.
I have to say, I did have several occurrences of outright laughter while reading this book - kinda like Stephanie Plum back in the early days. There's enough variety in the eras of humor that most would find some to enjoy. I would definitely read any follow up novels.
August 21, 2015
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Anne Flett-Giordano, Prospect Park Books and Goodreads.
Lots of funny one-liners throughout this murder mystery. A great debut novel!
Lots of funny one-liners throughout this murder mystery. A great debut novel!
August 14, 2015
A fun twisted murder mystery in a southern California beach town during the film festival finds Detective Nola and her partner Tony trying to untangle a complicated case of three unrelated deaths. Or so they think.
July 12, 2015
I found this to be a highly entertaining read! The characters were colorful and the pop culture references were fun and plentiful. I look forward to new books by this author.
July 7, 2015
Quick, enjoyable vacation read. Great especially if you like thrillers.
July 21, 2015
Hilarious! Tony and Nola make such a great crime fighting pair. I appreciated that the focus of the book wasn't on Nola getting a man, like so many others. I look forward to the rest of the series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews