Review: Murder in the Piazza: A Maggie White Mystery by Jen Collins Moore

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Summary

Maggie White, a downsized American executive stuck in Rome on her husband’s expat assignment, is finding the dolce vita isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. She’s taken a job offering painting instruction to well-heeled travelers on a luxury tour and her boss—a rather unpleasant English lord—has turned up dead in his penthouse. Maggie’s left with a palazzo full of suspicious guests, a valuable painting her boss might have stolen, and a policeman who’s decided she’s the prime suspect. Now Maggie must keep the tour up and running while she tracks the killer and works to clear her name.

Review

This definitely lives up to the cozy mystery theme. I enjoyed the setting of Rome and experiencing the culture and getting to know the city. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it took a little bit for me to warm up to the plot. The potential was there just not that spark that I wanted to experience from the start. Mainly because I was lukewarm to Maggie. The plot definitely grew on me as the book progressed but I’m conflicted in my thoughts about Maggie being so aggressive telling the inspector how to do his job. She had many ideas about the whodunit that didn’t pan out. Maybe experiencing the moments and her discovering things to put them together like a puzzle would’ve been a little more interesting. Then there was a shift when the case was to be closed that sparked a shift in her character and the plot that then piqued my interest. The ending made up for any indifference I felt halfway through. Overall, I feel uncertain but the ending was good. I’m curious to see how this character develops. I’d be willing to give the next book a chance.