The first mystery in a new series overflowing with Greek flavor…
Georgie Nikolopatos manages the Bonaparte House, a Greek restaurant and historic landmark in beautiful upstate New York rumored to possess ghosts and hidden treasure. But when her husband disappears and her main competitor is found dead, it’s up to Georgie to solve a big fat Greek murder.
With her husband, Spiro, inexplicably gone for days, Georgie has her hands full running the restaurant and dealing with the crew of the TV show Ghost Squad, called in by Spiro to inspect the house for haunting. So when she has a chance to take a boating excursion on the St. Lawrence River with her friend Keith Morgan, she jumps on it. But their idyll is quickly ruined when they discover the body of rival restaurant owner Domenic “Big Dom” DiTomasso floating in the water.
When the police start asking questions, it doesn’t help that Spiro can’t be found—and with Georgie on their suspect list, it’s up to her to find her missing husband and find out who killed Big Dom before someone else’s order is up.
Includes delicious Greek recipes!
Georgie Nikolopatos manages a Greek restaurant in the historic Bonaparte House, along with her husband, Spiro, and mother-in-law, Sophie. Georgie loves the restaurant and wants nothing more than to continue to work there, but the threat of having to leave is constantly hanging over her head. She and Spiro have a marriage in name only, and Georgie is afraid his latest absence may mean he has finally left her. Although Spiro has disappeared before, this time it feels different. Since it’s his family that owns the restaurant, she fears she will be losing her job as well as her marriage if Spiro divorces her. Georgie’s irritation turns to fear when she learns Spiro has been keeping dangerous company and may be in trouble. Georgie is trying to remain calm and keep up with the daily demands of the restaurant. Further complicating things are crew members arriving from a television show called Ghost Squad, who are trying to prove reports that the Bonaparte House is haunted. Things really get complicated when Georgie is one of the people to discover the dead body of a rival restaurant owner who may have had some underhanded dealings with Spiro. Georgie is more determined than ever to find out if there is something sinister behind Spiro’s disappearance.
Many books get your attention in the first chapter, but this book literally grabs you with the very first sentence: “When you marry a gay man, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when he leaves you.” With that doozy of an opening line, it’s obvious this is going to be a unique book. This is a great debut of a very promising series. The author is a talented writer who sets the scenes throughout the book with her descriptive language. I could picture the room perfectly and wished I could see it after reading the following description, “The walls were the color of a field of lavender in the French countryside.” I laughed and commiserated with Georgie when she sees herself in the mirror and says, “My hair was an Einstein mess…” The author is able to paint a picture and set the mood with her wonderful descriptions.
The characters in this book are complex, and if you’re like me, you may not form an immediate connection with them. Georgie is likeable, but inconsistent. She seems strong and independent one minute, but lets Sophie walk on her and also demonstrates too much dithering and not enough action even when it becomes likely that Spiro is in danger. Georgie’s mother-in-law, Sophie, is extremely hard to get to know. She seems fun-loving in the area of romance, but dour and old-fashioned in her interactions with Georgie. The most fun character is Spiro’s boyfriend, Inky, and when he and Georgie team up to help Spiro, the book really picks up. They make a surprising, but interesting, team. Once they teamed up, I really started to enjoy the story much more and began rooting for Georgie to succeed in the investigation and in her personal life.
With the complex characters and their relationships, the ghost hunter aspect of the story isn’t really needed and just adds confusion to an already full plot. There are also some holes in romance subplot. Georgie and Spiro have a grown daughter, so it seems strange that after all those years of remaining faithful to Spiro, regardless of how Spiro has conducted himself, Georgie suddenly becomes attracted to not one, but two different men. Even though the timing seems strange, I’m pleased with the direction Georgie’s love life seems to be taking by the end of the book. Hopefully this will give her the confidence to stand up for herself a little more in the operation of the restaurant than she does in this book.
There are some flaws in the book, but overall, it is a quick read that kept my interest from the beginning until the very end. I appreciate the uniqueness of the characters and the storyline. Things get complicated with a variety of different characters by the end of the story, but I’m happy with the way the story ends. All of the important questions are answered, leaving enough questions to leave the reader eager for a sequel to read about Georgie’s next adventure.
Reviewed by Christine
