Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder is the first book in the Cats and Dogs Murder series by Fiona Grace. I read my first book by her earlier this year when I tried Aged For Murder Tuscan Vineyard #1 in March. ( my Blog Post ) I enjoyed this book as well. I appreciate how the murder mystery is almost an afterthought in the stories vs the foremost plot feature. Ms. Grace does a wonderful job of describing the countries and villages where she sets these mysteries. You can really visualize the locations as you read them and feel as though you are there experiencing the culture as well as the protagonists. I also like how the character relationships and experiences take a prominent role in the storylines rather than being sidenotes as they often are in cozy mysteries. Neither is a bad approach, I just enjoy the variety these books by Fiona Grace provide.
If you are looking for cozy mysteries with strong character development and relationships set in foreign locations be sure to give her Cats and Dogs and Tuscan Vineyard series a try.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An enjoyable mystery that’s really more about the adventures of Audrey Smart on her ex pat journey in Sicily. The situations she finds herself in are often comical. The decisions she must make regarding her 1 euro home renovations are at the center of her missteps. Her move and establishing a vet practice are engaging storylines. Grace makes the reader feel Audreys dilemma between starting a new life and returning to the comfort of life in Boston. The series should prove to be an adventure in home renovations and establishing a vet practice in her new hometown.
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book # 88
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book # 72
- Literary Escapes #LiteraryEscapes Sicily
- AtoZ #2023AtoZReadingChallenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge V
- Stacking the Series #stackingseries2023 1
- Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 =-1
- What an Animal Book #32
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023 Book #80
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #62
- Cruisin thru Cozies Free choice #39
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #66
- Craving for Cozies Book #56
- Six Shooter Challenge Target # 97 Shot #2
- Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
- Bookworm #41 Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V
- Beyond the Bookends July- Read a book set in Italy
- Read Your Bookshelf July different country than June's book
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