Auntie Poldi and the Handsome Antonio
Auntie Poldi 3
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
All the beloved, irascible Auntie Poldi wanted from her Sicilian retirement was time to enjoy sunshine, a free-flowing supply of wine, and a sultry romance with Chief Inspector Montana. But then her idyll is rudely disrupted by the last person she wants to see on her doorstep - John Owenya, detective inspector with the Tanzanian Ministry of Home Affairs, who is also her estranged, lying cheat of a husband.
Not only is John's sudden reappearance putting a kink in Poldi's dreamy love affair with Vito Montana, but his presence also comes with a plea for help - and unwanted clashes with Mafia.
Where is John's half-brother? What is the ten-million-dollar 'it' that John's brother was last seen with that has both the Sicilian and Tanzanian mobs in a frenzy? With only a postcard that has a phone number and a name, 'Handsome Antonio', on the back, Auntie Poldi hops begrudgingly (albeit with a great deal of gumption and panache) back into the saddle (in this case, an immaculate red Maserati Cabrio from the 80s with cream leather upholstery). The faster she finds Handsome Antonio, the sooner she can get John Owenya out of her hair and love-life. But the people Poldi discovers along the way may very well knock her immaculate wig askew.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Giordano's enjoyable third Auntie Poldi novel picks right up where 2019's Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna left off, with a surprise visit from Poldi's estranged Tanzanian husband, John Owenya. John has come to Sicily to investigate the disappearance of his half-brother, which is connected to the title's handsome Antonio. Poldi, John, and Poldi's current flame, Chief Insp. Vito Montana, set out to find Antonio, and are presented with plenty of candidates, all handsome and all named Antonio. Poldi, a 60-something Bavarian with a penchant for wigs, is soon crammed into a Maserati and on the run from a possible Mafia hit, along with her ne'er-do-well nephew (the unnamed narrator), her brother-in-law, and a flatulent dog, as they take a grand tour of the Sicilian back roads. The plot is thinner than in the two previous installments, but the prose remains sharp, the humor pointed, and Poldi a whirlwind of sexual bravado and confidence shines. Readers will hope to see a lot more of her.
