Isn’t that an attractive cover for Stephanie Cole’s third Tuscan Cook School Mystery? Here’s my complaint. That cover has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of Evil Under the Tuscan Sun, just nothing. And, maybe I missed it someplace. The only scene in this book with a dog involves a truffle-hunting dog under the dinner table. That’s it.
Nell Valenti has really finished her design for the cooking school at Villa Orlandini in Cortona, Italy, but she can’t let go. She’s sleeping with Pete, Pierfranco Orlandini, owner of Slow Wind Olive Grove, and Chef Claudio Orlandini’s son. She’s grown comfortable with the staff and the community, and she’s solved two murders. She doesn’t want to return home to New Jersey where she’s the daughter of two celebrities.
When Philip Copeland rents the entire school for a four-day luxury trip for himself, his mother, and her best friend, it gives Nell another reason to stay, to plan their visit. It doesn’t help that Pete is in Rome for some mysterious meetings. And, why is there a couple walking through the olive groves, acting as if the woman owns it?
Nell will have answers soon to some of those questions, after the woman, Renata Vitale, turns the entire town upside down. There are a number of local people with reasons to hate “the witch”, but who hates her enough to kill her, and leave her body in the olive grove? It seems someone connected to Villa Orlandini knows her intimately.
Once again, Nell finds herself caught up in a murder investigation. This time, she’s also uncovered the historical past of the villa, when the Orlandini family left for Switzerland during World War II, leaving the property in the hands of Sister Ambrose, a nun from the nearby convent. The World War II secrets are just as enticing as the murder investigation.
Naturally, with the setting of a cooking school in Tuscany, Evil Under the Tuscan Sun is appropriately filled with discussion of food. But, it’s November, a wet, misty time of year, so don’t expect to enjoy sunshine with your murder case. While that investigation is interesting, it’s the historical aspect of the story that ties everything together. Read this book for the food and the history. And, don’t pick it up for the cover.
Stephanie Cole’s website is https://www.stephaniecolebooks.com/
Evil Under the Tuscan Sun by Stephanie Cole. Berkley, 2022. ISBN 9780593097830 (paperback), 304p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.
Nothing to with the story but the cover brought a memory back to me. We had a small mixed pup that liked to climb ladders! My mother used a ladder to clean the leaves out of the gutter and went inside for lunch. Honey could not resist and soon she walking around on our roof. We got her down and she eagerly eyed the ladder and started up for another look.
Good story, Carolee! I have a cat who likes to climb ladders, but it’s a better story with your pup.
The cover-unconnected-to-the-contents drives me nuts (well, more nuts, I guess š. Iām sure it happens frequently, but it still bugs me.
Me, too, Rick, and I argued about it several times with one series, but the poor author really has no say in the cover.
The history appeals to me. I am currently reading Jailhouse Lawyer which scares the hell out of me, like a Lifetime movie. Awful stuff you know really happens. Makings of a. Nightmare. Yet, I continue to read