Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride

Nonna Maria, the distinctive protagonist of this gentle standalone from bestseller Carcaterra (the Tank Rizzo series), seldom travels from her home on the Italian island of Ischia, though she has a vast network of friends who come to her “with issues that should be brought to the attention of the local carabinieri and not a widow with a bad right leg.” She, in turn, depends on her buddies, including a Camorra crime boss and a priest, to help her resolve any problems that can’t be cleared up by common sense alone. One such is the plight of a reluctant bride-to-be, who has impetuously agreed to marry a handsome stranger and is now afraid to break things off for fear of what he might do to her family. Meanwhile, Nonna Maria uses her encyclopedic knowledge of the island and its inhabitants to help a carabinieri captain investigate the death of an 85-year-old tour boat captain. All the nice people involved are rewarded with happy endings. Italophiles wishing for a brief vacation in charming and clever company will revel in this love letter to Ischia. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME. (May)