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A Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery #1
A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder
A VILLA IN SICILY: OLIVE OIL AND MURDER is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Fiona Grace, author of Murder in the Manor, a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five-star reviews!
Audrey Smart, 34, is a brilliant vet—yet fed up by her demanding clients who think they know more than her and who don’t care about their animals. Burnt-out with the endless hours, she wonders if the time has come for a new direction. And when her 15th year high school reunion (and her hopes for re-sparking on old flame) end in disaster, Audrey knows the time has come to make a change.
When Audrey sees an ad for a $1 home in Sicily, it captivates her. The only catch is that the house requires renovation, something she knows little about. She wonders if it could be real—and if she may really be crazy enough to go for it.
Can Audrey create a life and career—and the home of her dreams—in a beautiful Sicilian village? And perhaps even find love while she’s there?
Or will an unexpected death—one that only she can solve—put an end to all of her plans?
Are some dreams too good to be true?
A laugh-out-loud cozy packed with mystery, intrigue, renovation, animals, food, wine—and of course, love—A VILLA IN SICILY will capture your heart and keep you glued to the very last page.
Listening Length: 5 hours and 59 minutes
Audrey Smart, 34, is a brilliant vet—yet fed up by her demanding clients who think they know more than her and who don’t care about their animals. Burnt-out with the endless hours, she wonders if the time has come for a new direction. And when her 15th year high school reunion (and her hopes for re-sparking on old flame) end in disaster, Audrey knows the time has come to make a change.
When Audrey sees an ad for a $1 home in Sicily, it captivates her. The only catch is that the house requires renovation, something she knows little about. She wonders if it could be real—and if she may really be crazy enough to go for it.
Can Audrey create a life and career—and the home of her dreams—in a beautiful Sicilian village? And perhaps even find love while she’s there?
Or will an unexpected death—one that only she can solve—put an end to all of her plans?
Are some dreams too good to be true?
A laugh-out-loud cozy packed with mystery, intrigue, renovation, animals, food, wine—and of course, love—A VILLA IN SICILY will capture your heart and keep you glued to the very last page.
Listening Length: 5 hours and 59 minutes
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published November 5, 2020
2154 people are currently reading
2328 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Grace
477 books720 followersDebut author Fiona Grace is author of the LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY series which includes MURDER IN THE MANOR (Book #1), DEATH AND A DOG (Book #2) and CRIME IN THE CAFE (Book #3). Fiona would love to hear from you, so please visit www.fionagraceauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 495 reviews
January 10, 2021
I liked the idea of a young woman wanting a major change in her life by buying a one euro wreck of a house in Sicily. But the author’s characterization of the main character, who is a veterinarian, is frustrating - Audrey is so clueless I wanted to take her aside and have a chat:)
July 6, 2023
Ever seen those ads where there is a picture of a quaint little home in a pretty part of the world 'and it's only a dollar?' A pretty sketchy offer that is highly likely too good to be true is the beginning of a cozy mystery series set in a Sicilian village and featuring adorable animals and an inquisitive veterinarian.
After a reunion gone wrong, a last straw situation at the veterinary office that ends in her resignation, and a chat with her sister about being a little adventuresome, out of work and feeling low, Audrey Smart plunks down her dollar and hies it off to Sicily to start over on a new life adventure.
Naturally, the villa isn't all that she thought and Audrey is tempted to pack it in, but then she straightens her spine and leaps into the task of DIY-ing her old decrepit villa into a lovely home. Not long after she gets going, a sudden death has her swapping out her tool kit for a sleuthing hat.
A Villa in Sicily got off to a bumpy start for me. I wasn't that impressed with Audrey and I had to get over the improvable way she landed in her new situation or that she suddenly turned into a DIY-er extraordinaire and doing so well with a language, cultural, and even more barriers that should have been more of a struggle. Oh, yes, there are some terribly funny and cringe-worthy fails and she definitely needed a ton of help and got it. But yes, I definitely had to just buy in and shrug at that sort of thing. In truth, I wanted to because I thought it was a lovely dream to be able to chuck a tough life and start over in a pretty and old Sicilian villa while doing a job she loved and acting as an amateur detective.
Most of the book is spent introducing Audrey and transplanting her from old life to new, introducing her project and the village. The mystery is a bit crammed in at the end. Oh, and there is the start of a romance which I thought was a good thing. I'm guessing that the rest of the series will introduce the mysteries sooner and give over more time to development.
The narrator was a first time for me, Sarah Kempton. I loved her voice and thought she was a fab narrator with a good range of voice changes to represent the characters. But, I thought it was odd that she was chosen to narrate since her English-voice was British and not American. It was distracting because Audrey, her sister, and most of the early cast are American.
So, it was a mixed bag for me from narration choice to suspending my belief for a bit, but it did leave me open to going on with the series to see Audrey, her small Sicilian village, and more cozy mysteries.
After a reunion gone wrong, a last straw situation at the veterinary office that ends in her resignation, and a chat with her sister about being a little adventuresome, out of work and feeling low, Audrey Smart plunks down her dollar and hies it off to Sicily to start over on a new life adventure.
Naturally, the villa isn't all that she thought and Audrey is tempted to pack it in, but then she straightens her spine and leaps into the task of DIY-ing her old decrepit villa into a lovely home. Not long after she gets going, a sudden death has her swapping out her tool kit for a sleuthing hat.
A Villa in Sicily got off to a bumpy start for me. I wasn't that impressed with Audrey and I had to get over the improvable way she landed in her new situation or that she suddenly turned into a DIY-er extraordinaire and doing so well with a language, cultural, and even more barriers that should have been more of a struggle. Oh, yes, there are some terribly funny and cringe-worthy fails and she definitely needed a ton of help and got it. But yes, I definitely had to just buy in and shrug at that sort of thing. In truth, I wanted to because I thought it was a lovely dream to be able to chuck a tough life and start over in a pretty and old Sicilian villa while doing a job she loved and acting as an amateur detective.
Most of the book is spent introducing Audrey and transplanting her from old life to new, introducing her project and the village. The mystery is a bit crammed in at the end. Oh, and there is the start of a romance which I thought was a good thing. I'm guessing that the rest of the series will introduce the mysteries sooner and give over more time to development.
The narrator was a first time for me, Sarah Kempton. I loved her voice and thought she was a fab narrator with a good range of voice changes to represent the characters. But, I thought it was odd that she was chosen to narrate since her English-voice was British and not American. It was distracting because Audrey, her sister, and most of the early cast are American.
So, it was a mixed bag for me from narration choice to suspending my belief for a bit, but it did leave me open to going on with the series to see Audrey, her small Sicilian village, and more cozy mysteries.
August 16, 2021
II just loved this start to a new series. It is charming, exciting and has some great characters. I am not sure the mystery did much for me because it seemed liked the mystery was side to the rest of the book rather than the whole story but I loved the idea of buying a house in Sicily for one dollar and moving and meeting some nice and some so not nice people. A great start to what I think will be a wonderful series. I also love that her now pet is a fox. The ending was fantastic as well.
January 17, 2022
Entirely unbelievable and rather infuriating at times, but am I a sucker ? And will I read the next one? Probably.
November 19, 2021
First off, I'm not sure why this is called the cats & dogs cozy since there aren't either in this book but maybe in future stories there will be. I loved the beginning, when it started in Boston and the idea of following your dream for the $1 Italian villa we've all heard about. Once there the story kind of took a turn for me. It felt like it was attempting to be like Under the Tuscan Sun meets murder mystery but it didn't totally work for me. I loved the fox and it was so well written I was actually heartbroken that she'd leave it.
I would probably continue on with the series but am not jumping to get to the next.
I would probably continue on with the series but am not jumping to get to the next.
September 18, 2023
Senza lode e senza infamia...
A volte surreale.
Scrivere che in un ameno paesino della Sicilia tutti parlino fluentemente l'inglese sa tanto di "americanata".
Ma tant'é...... Questa insieme ad altre castronerie!!!
Purtroppo la trama è piatta e statica e si traduce in un libro tutt'altro che avvincente, direi noioso.
Probabilmente in 20 pagine si poteva raccontare tutta la vicenda con lo stesso esito.
Troppi luoghi comuni, troppo poco credibile e poco convincente.
Ok per un fumetto.
A volte surreale.
Scrivere che in un ameno paesino della Sicilia tutti parlino fluentemente l'inglese sa tanto di "americanata".
Ma tant'é...... Questa insieme ad altre castronerie!!!
Purtroppo la trama è piatta e statica e si traduce in un libro tutt'altro che avvincente, direi noioso.
Probabilmente in 20 pagine si poteva raccontare tutta la vicenda con lo stesso esito.
Troppi luoghi comuni, troppo poco credibile e poco convincente.
Ok per un fumetto.
Read
February 2, 2023This is one of the many books I read last year and didn't find the time to review - probably because it was a meh read for me.
Young veterinarian women is not appreciated and degraded by her colleagues, superiors, and customers. She is also downtrodden and feels a failure in comparison to the people who graduated with her in ...(HS? College?). 🎜🎜Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm going to...🎝🎝. Boo hoo!
So what would you do, if you were in her shoes? Of course, you would answer an advertisement and buy a villa for $1 in Sicily (seriously?). Then with no knowledge of the language and virtually no savings to speak of, you would pack up and move to a rural Sicilian town, into a wreck of a house that doesn't even have a functioning toilet! Then, just for good measure, you would discover a dead body and become the principal suspect.
Although that sounds like it might be a cute story, it is more like a very pale, faded version of the movies Baby Boom, Under the Tuscan Sun, and a dozen others with the same theme but far more charm and no dead bodies.
The book, which is part of a series, is free on Kindle and available on Hoopla, if your library subscribes. So, if the above sounds like fun to you, there are five more books in the series, waiting on the shelf for the asking. Enjoy!
Young veterinarian women is not appreciated and degraded by her colleagues, superiors, and customers. She is also downtrodden and feels a failure in comparison to the people who graduated with her in ...(HS? College?). 🎜🎜Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm going to...🎝🎝. Boo hoo!
So what would you do, if you were in her shoes? Of course, you would answer an advertisement and buy a villa for $1 in Sicily (seriously?). Then with no knowledge of the language and virtually no savings to speak of, you would pack up and move to a rural Sicilian town, into a wreck of a house that doesn't even have a functioning toilet! Then, just for good measure, you would discover a dead body and become the principal suspect.
Although that sounds like it might be a cute story, it is more like a very pale, faded version of the movies Baby Boom, Under the Tuscan Sun, and a dozen others with the same theme but far more charm and no dead bodies.
The book, which is part of a series, is free on Kindle and available on Hoopla, if your library subscribes. So, if the above sounds like fun to you, there are five more books in the series, waiting on the shelf for the asking. Enjoy!
June 6, 2022
4⭐️
I really enjoyed this short, fun book!
Audrey, an American veterinarian lands in Italy to assess the home she bought online, sight unseen. Her first day in town is full of blunders and shortly after she arrives, someone she had heated words with, ends up dead.
The murder/crime aspect of the story only starts about halfway in, however.
Language: 13 abuses of God’s name, 8 fricken, 1 heck, 2 darn, 2 h, 2 d, a, ba, 1 dang
I really enjoyed this short, fun book!
Audrey, an American veterinarian lands in Italy to assess the home she bought online, sight unseen. Her first day in town is full of blunders and shortly after she arrives, someone she had heated words with, ends up dead.
The murder/crime aspect of the story only starts about halfway in, however.
Language: 13 abuses of God’s name, 8 fricken, 1 heck, 2 darn, 2 h, 2 d, a, ba, 1 dang
May 3, 2021
Audrey Smart has had more than enough of her current life. She loves being a vet and loves animals, but not their owners. She’s done with the vet she works for. Then, she attends her high school reunion and becomes even more desperate to change her life choices.
She stumbles upon a chance in a lifetime opportunity. For only $1, she can buy a home in Sicily. The home needs some renovations, but Audrey is ready to take on the challenge. She leaves her life and her job in Boston and heads to Italy.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the small town in Sicily is welcoming. She gets into an argument with a worker and then discovers his dead body. Naturally, she’s the number one suspect. Being the newcomer in town, the police look no further. Audrey is determined to prove her innocence.
This is the first book in the Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery series. It’s a fast-paced, light hearted mystery. I liked Audrey, but I kept shaking my head at the choices she made. The characters are quirky and a little fox grabbed my heart . I won’t say more as I don’t want to spoil things.
The audio book is charming to listen to and the narrator did a wonderful job. I’m looking forward to reading or listening to the next book in the series.
She stumbles upon a chance in a lifetime opportunity. For only $1, she can buy a home in Sicily. The home needs some renovations, but Audrey is ready to take on the challenge. She leaves her life and her job in Boston and heads to Italy.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the small town in Sicily is welcoming. She gets into an argument with a worker and then discovers his dead body. Naturally, she’s the number one suspect. Being the newcomer in town, the police look no further. Audrey is determined to prove her innocence.
This is the first book in the Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery series. It’s a fast-paced, light hearted mystery. I liked Audrey, but I kept shaking my head at the choices she made. The characters are quirky and a little fox grabbed my heart . I won’t say more as I don’t want to spoil things.
The audio book is charming to listen to and the narrator did a wonderful job. I’m looking forward to reading or listening to the next book in the series.
January 8, 2023
I downloaded this as an audiobook on Chirp and it is painfully awful. At first I thought it was just that the narration was off, but now that I’m at the HALFWAY point I have come to the conclusion that this story is not going to get any better. What could have been an adorable cozy mystery with dogs & cats is just a agitating story with no point. I cannot even believe that this is a series!
Let’s begin with the MC, Audrey Smart. Audrey is in her early thirties and a veterinarian. She looks incredibly young apparently & we are told this over & over. As if the reader could forget because Audrey drones on about it constantly. Audrey is born & bred in Boston. Has a perfect SAHM older sister, a mother we never meet, and a father who walked out when she was twelve, but she yearns for him. On a whim after a disastrous high school reunion & being belittled at work, Audrey bids on a $1 property in Italy. Apparently this is really a thing that stupid Americans fall for. Who knew?
I’m halfway through this short story & so far there is still NO MYSTERY?!? I’m so confused as to why it is being marketed as a mystery when half the book is just about miserable Audrey & her stupid life. She is completely unlikable & walks around with a huge chip on her shoulder. About 30% into the book she quits her job & moves to Italy to a home sight unseen. She thinks she’ll be totally fine because her absentee father was a contractor & she used to play at his job sites when she was a child. Say what? She’s delusional. The other characters are so ridiculously portrayed that I just cannot even go on.
As for the narration, just no. The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Kempton. I looked her up & she has an impressive CV, but this is just an awful representation. Why is the narrator English when the book is set in Boston, MA & Sicily, Italy??? It threw me off that Audrey who is from America would have her thoughts be in a proper British accent. Who thought this was a good idea? Then the Boston accents are so ridiculously cringy, it’s painful. I will give Ms. Kempton props on the range of her voices, but many of them miss the mark in this audiobook.
I only have two hours left of this audiobook, but I just cannot continue on. It is that bad. A non-existent storyline, an annoying, self-centered MC, and a narrator that is all wrong. This has got to be the worst book I’ve ever listened too. Save your ears & your dollars.
Let’s begin with the MC, Audrey Smart. Audrey is in her early thirties and a veterinarian. She looks incredibly young apparently & we are told this over & over. As if the reader could forget because Audrey drones on about it constantly. Audrey is born & bred in Boston. Has a perfect SAHM older sister, a mother we never meet, and a father who walked out when she was twelve, but she yearns for him. On a whim after a disastrous high school reunion & being belittled at work, Audrey bids on a $1 property in Italy. Apparently this is really a thing that stupid Americans fall for. Who knew?
I’m halfway through this short story & so far there is still NO MYSTERY?!? I’m so confused as to why it is being marketed as a mystery when half the book is just about miserable Audrey & her stupid life. She is completely unlikable & walks around with a huge chip on her shoulder. About 30% into the book she quits her job & moves to Italy to a home sight unseen. She thinks she’ll be totally fine because her absentee father was a contractor & she used to play at his job sites when she was a child. Say what? She’s delusional. The other characters are so ridiculously portrayed that I just cannot even go on.
As for the narration, just no. The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Kempton. I looked her up & she has an impressive CV, but this is just an awful representation. Why is the narrator English when the book is set in Boston, MA & Sicily, Italy??? It threw me off that Audrey who is from America would have her thoughts be in a proper British accent. Who thought this was a good idea? Then the Boston accents are so ridiculously cringy, it’s painful. I will give Ms. Kempton props on the range of her voices, but many of them miss the mark in this audiobook.
I only have two hours left of this audiobook, but I just cannot continue on. It is that bad. A non-existent storyline, an annoying, self-centered MC, and a narrator that is all wrong. This has got to be the worst book I’ve ever listened too. Save your ears & your dollars.
March 20, 2021
Sicily tales
Almost same structure as the book "what happened in New york".
From the moment she is dropped by the taxi at stairs 3, the book becomes a bad fiction. How, From landing in a lost city and having nowhere to live, a stranger can start fixing a "ruin"? Alone...
Many things feel wrong with this mussomeli place: is it a modern village? With all the shops and no transport network? With few inhabitants?
The whole episode in mussomeli was rushed and crushing events made the whole story feel like a bad fiction. Nothing looks reasonable in a practical world where even "fixing as new door" is not a matter of improvisation!
And suddenly , a murder in the soup! Then some senseless detective work...
Also vain characters like Nessa...
Finally a sneaky Nick "the fox" that would have filled the story with some warmth if the character was well polished😏
Almost same structure as the book "what happened in New york".
From the moment she is dropped by the taxi at stairs 3, the book becomes a bad fiction. How, From landing in a lost city and having nowhere to live, a stranger can start fixing a "ruin"? Alone...
Many things feel wrong with this mussomeli place: is it a modern village? With all the shops and no transport network? With few inhabitants?
The whole episode in mussomeli was rushed and crushing events made the whole story feel like a bad fiction. Nothing looks reasonable in a practical world where even "fixing as new door" is not a matter of improvisation!
And suddenly , a murder in the soup! Then some senseless detective work...
Also vain characters like Nessa...
Finally a sneaky Nick "the fox" that would have filled the story with some warmth if the character was well polished😏
March 14, 2023
A ditzy veterinarian grows a backbone and takes charge of her life. Kind of. For someone who is taking charge of her destiny, Audrey is an extremely passive character. I know this is a cozy and not intended to be a great work of literature, but the characters are all stereotypes. It’s like the author never met a vet, or a southerner, or a Bostonian, or an Italian, etc. Also, for a book with “olive oil” in the title, there was very little mention of food beyond a few cursory references to Italian food being tasty. I wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t.
July 30, 2023
Thirty-something Dr Audrey Smart feels unappreciated and unchallenged. A disastrous high school reunion prompts her to dramatically change her life by quitting her veterinary job in Boston and moving to Sicily to rehabilitate an old house. Though the building was priced at one dollar, the renovation runs through her savings at an alarming rate. Even worse, she's accused of murder when she quarrels with a builder, only to find him dead the next morning. Perhaps breaking out of her old life was a bad idea?
This story acts as an introduction to the series A Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery. Much of the book is the stage setting, allowing the reader to sympathise with Audrey, the main character. The mystery lands at approximately the 50% mark, leaving little time for both detection and denouement.
Oh, Audrey. She may be a stellar veterinarian, but she's not street-smart. So many times she was the creator of her own misadventures. As the series goes on I hope to find a less impetuous, headstrong heroine (and, perhaps, a bit more mystery). The setting and the premise are unusual enough to have me intrigued. I'll be continuing with this series.
This story acts as an introduction to the series A Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery. Much of the book is the stage setting, allowing the reader to sympathise with Audrey, the main character. The mystery lands at approximately the 50% mark, leaving little time for both detection and denouement.
Oh, Audrey. She may be a stellar veterinarian, but she's not street-smart. So many times she was the creator of her own misadventures. As the series goes on I hope to find a less impetuous, headstrong heroine (and, perhaps, a bit more mystery). The setting and the premise are unusual enough to have me intrigued. I'll be continuing with this series.
August 31, 2024
First audiobook and it was the perfect choice!
August 21, 2022
3.5 stars. I’m upping this from 3 to 3.5 stars because I enjoyed the story itself, but although I liked the main character, Audrey Smart, I did not find her ‘smart’ at all. In fact, I thought that she did some really stupid things. Especially for someone who not only went to college, but veterinary school as well. That said, I’m going to try the next book to see where the story goes. The narrator was good although I was a bit put off by her English accent, especially since the main character was American.
March 16, 2021
Mildly amusing and a not too complex plot. I confess that I always am put off by professional women making irrational decisions and being “rescued” by some deus ex machina. I am not sure why I stayed til the end but it was less than a compelling read.
May 20, 2021
A cozy and enjoyable read
The story had a little bit of everything from beautiful vistas to murder and twists and turns. I love the little cuddly fox who added a delightful touch to the story. It was an enjoyable read from beginning to end.
The story had a little bit of everything from beautiful vistas to murder and twists and turns. I love the little cuddly fox who added a delightful touch to the story. It was an enjoyable read from beginning to end.
January 18, 2021
I had just finished Aged for Murder by this author. I should have known better than to buy another one so soon. Yet again I couldn't put it down. I read it in two days which in the current lockdown may not seem quick, but I am a full time carer so two days is fast mostly because I limited myself to 1 a.m. lights out. Audrey is a vet overworked and not appreciated. One night she gets back to her flat to find the landlord has increased the rent and she hasn't paid off her loan yet. Add to this a school reunion that doesn't go well and quitting her job and this girl is ready to take risks including packing up and buying a place in Sicily for a $1. When the ad said in need of some work, that was an understatement of what she found. Add to this a murder which she gets accused of .... A great read as it is well written, descriptive and has a crime to solve. Just make sure you can make enough time to read without having to put it down. Enjoy.
August 31, 2021
A nice cozy mystery with a happy Sicilian ending. Caio.
November 2, 2021
Absolutely adored this one!!
July 12, 2024
Good start to the series.
April 2, 2024
Listened on audiobook. Was a cute little free read! Little far fetched but I loved it.
October 9, 2022
A delightful story of a young female veterinarian who buys a house in Sicily for ONE US dollar and quits her job to enjoy a new life. An adventure! Have you seen those advertisements? Were you at least tempted to buy one, sight unseen?
What do you think she will find? A dream house? Well, whatever it is it will take some loving care. She found hers and within a few days she ended up suspected of murder. Yes, and facing years in an Italian prison.
There is so much more to this tale, so...
Don't miss this one!
What do you think she will find? A dream house? Well, whatever it is it will take some loving care. She found hers and within a few days she ended up suspected of murder. Yes, and facing years in an Italian prison.
There is so much more to this tale, so...
Don't miss this one!
June 8, 2022
Solid 3⭐️. I would have rated this higher but there seemed to be a lot of build up to the meat of the story. As this is the beginning of a series, some of that is understandable, but we’re quite a long way in before we get to the murder, and as such (being a cozy) there’s not a lot of time to really dig into the mystery.
Audrey Smart is a veterinarian in Boston with a job she doesn’t like, in a crappy apartment, and zero love life. So, after a disastrous high school reunion, she places a bid on a $1 villa in Sicily that she sees on a Facebook ad. The bid is accepted (assuming she’ll help the villagers as a vet) and she packs up and moves to Italy. Of course nothing is as good as it seems and she finds herself with a rundown place with a very scary bathroom. She’s doing the renovations herself, but her snotty neighbor hires a contractor, who ends up dead. Audrey is the main suspect, and she must clear her name if she ever wants to leave town again.
This was a solid start with some interesting side characters and some possibilities for a romance plot to be woven in in future installments. Audrey is likable and I found myself rooting for her. Who wouldn’t love a character that adopts a fox?!? 🦊
I liked this enough that I will look for the next installments. The audio books are only about 6 hours long and it’s also nice to get some shorter stories every once in awhile too. Not everything needs to be 18 hours 🙄
Audrey Smart is a veterinarian in Boston with a job she doesn’t like, in a crappy apartment, and zero love life. So, after a disastrous high school reunion, she places a bid on a $1 villa in Sicily that she sees on a Facebook ad. The bid is accepted (assuming she’ll help the villagers as a vet) and she packs up and moves to Italy. Of course nothing is as good as it seems and she finds herself with a rundown place with a very scary bathroom. She’s doing the renovations herself, but her snotty neighbor hires a contractor, who ends up dead. Audrey is the main suspect, and she must clear her name if she ever wants to leave town again.
This was a solid start with some interesting side characters and some possibilities for a romance plot to be woven in in future installments. Audrey is likable and I found myself rooting for her. Who wouldn’t love a character that adopts a fox?!? 🦊
I liked this enough that I will look for the next installments. The audio books are only about 6 hours long and it’s also nice to get some shorter stories every once in awhile too. Not everything needs to be 18 hours 🙄
December 10, 2020
A good beginning to a new series. Audrey is likeable if somewhat naive. She's a vet in Boston who is constantly being unappreciated at work and then her apartment is sold and the rent is doubled. She goes to her high school reunion and realizes that she really isn't happy with her life. She sees an ad for a home in Sicily for $1 and impulsively decides to go for it. The home needs lots of repairs but she's game to try to fix it up. When a contractor working on a home across murdered, Audrey finds the body and becomes a suspect. If she wants to not wind up in an Italian prison then she needs to solve the murder herself. Good characters, funny moments and interesting situations. All in all, a good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review
May 1, 2021
2.5 stars
I tell myself that I like cozy mysteries, but maybe I like them only when they are adapted to the screen because I struggled with this book. While some elements were entertaining, the set-up was far longer than it needed to be, and resolution was very rushed. Plot convenience!
As noted by another reviewer, the main character borders on being pathetic and unlikeable. There are a few inconsistencies that bothered me. For instance, when we're introduced to Nessa, the woman renovating the flat next Audrey's, she is described as having stick-straight white-blonde hair. However, a few paragraphs later, she "tilted her head at her and pushed a lock of curly hair behind her ears".
I tell myself that I like cozy mysteries, but maybe I like them only when they are adapted to the screen because I struggled with this book. While some elements were entertaining, the set-up was far longer than it needed to be, and resolution was very rushed. Plot convenience!
As noted by another reviewer, the main character borders on being pathetic and unlikeable. There are a few inconsistencies that bothered me. For instance, when we're introduced to Nessa, the woman renovating the flat next Audrey's, she is described as having stick-straight white-blonde hair. However, a few paragraphs later, she "tilted her head at her and pushed a lock of curly hair behind her ears".
November 9, 2021
I thought that all the characters in this book were annoying. Except perhaps the main character's older sister. She seemed pretty normal. I wouldn't have picked this one up except for Hoopla Free Borrows for the month of November. I suppose the only reason I didn't give it one star is because there's a part of me that would love to travel to Italy and buy a house to fix up ... but there's no way I'd go so ignorant and unprepared as the main character. Nor would I expect so many people to speak English.
November 23, 2021
This is first in the Cats and Dogs series, which is set in Sicily. The main character is a veterinarian who resigns her job and buys a house for an euro in a small town in Sicily on the condition that she refurbish it. She is also offered a chance by the town council to open a clinic in the town and to deal with the stray cat situation in town. Unfortunately she finds a dead body and feels like she has to solve the murder. Her pet sidekick is a young fox she rescued. I like the idea of this starting over plot and the setting is fun.
March 21, 2022
Another series from an author I've been listening to, different characters, different country, but same formula.
Audrey is a veterinarian who is unhappy with her life in Boston. After a bad experience at a high school reunion and workplace drama, she bids $1 on a property in a small town in Sicily. Her expectations are much higher for the situation than they are in reality, and of course, she finds herself in a murder mystery to boot.
An easy listen.
Audrey is a veterinarian who is unhappy with her life in Boston. After a bad experience at a high school reunion and workplace drama, she bids $1 on a property in a small town in Sicily. Her expectations are much higher for the situation than they are in reality, and of course, she finds herself in a murder mystery to boot.
An easy listen.
April 26, 2022
This just hurts in the brain. That is just enhanced by the prop here on Goodreads, This states that this a book about a very smart vet.
Nothing smart about her, the reasoning that she follows is actually scatterbrained.
I know that to set up a cozy mystery you have to make it believable that the main character has to have a reason to investigate herself. The way the author goes about that in this book is so dumb that I could not read on.
Nothing smart about her, the reasoning that she follows is actually scatterbrained.
I know that to set up a cozy mystery you have to make it believable that the main character has to have a reason to investigate herself. The way the author goes about that in this book is so dumb that I could not read on.
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