Murder at Veronica’s Diner
During the breakfast rush, waitress Teri Jo seems stressed out. Not surprising on a busy morning, though Alberta, her sister Helen, and her granddaughter Jinx find it odd when Teri Jo asks them to deliver a package for her “just in case.”
Minutes later, Teri Jo rushes back to their table, not with a check-in her hand but with a knife in her back. Veronica is upset but says she knows virtually nothing about her employee’s past, and the ladies aren’t sure whether to view her with sympathy or suspicion. They find an unusual figurine on the ground while snooping in the vicinity, and it becomes clear that this is a case for the Ferrara Family. With such a crowd at the crime scene, there are plenty of potential murderers on the menu, and the Ferraras will travel everywhere to figure out exactly where that figurine fits in.
Series: Ferrara Family Mystery – Book #4
Author: J.D. Griffo
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Old Sleuth
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 368
Rating: 
J.D. Griffo is a talented writer. In his latest addition to the “Ferrara Family Mystery” series, Murder at Veronica’s Diner, his talent shines through. The characters are filled with charm, loud voices, and Italian family nuances you don’t get unless you are a member of the group.
This story revolves around the murder of a waitress, Teri Jo, in a crowded diner. Yet none of the diner patrons saw the murder take place or the killer. It seems almost impossible that no one saw anything, including Alberta and the crew. This group of older ladies and Alberta’s young granddaughter are just as shocked as everyone else. The police have no clues, and the Ferrara family dives in to uncover a killer.
The characters in this story are easy to like. But at times, it can be difficult to tell who is who. If readers have not read any of the other additions to this series, they will be confused. I suggest that you don’t start this series with this book. To understand the characters and keep them straight, readers need to go back and start from the beginning. This book shows how a real family interacts with love, humor, and food. It’s filled with interesting tidbits, including the headlines for each chapter in Italian.
There is plenty of action in Murder at Veronica’s Diner; readers are taken on an adventure throughout the story. The evidence of the killer’s identity is sprinkled throughout, but this story isn’t so much about who the killer is, as this is obvious from the beginning, but it is more about what the motive is and who all is involved. Of course, in the end, Alberta, Helen, Joyce, and Jinx figure everything out and capture the murderer. My only complaint about this book was that solving the killer’s identity took all of ten minutes. I enjoyed the overall feel of this intriguing Italian family, their escapades, and I highly recommend the series and the recipes in the back.
More older sleuth cozies readers will enjoy are Nora Page’s book/librarian based series “A Bookmobile Mystery” or the wonderful spinoff series from Amanda Flower’s captivating “An Amish Matchmaker Mystery”.
About the Author:
J.D. Griffo is the award-winning author of the Ferrara Family Mysteries, several screenplays, and a number of YA novels written under the name Michael Griffo. A graduate of New York University, he has studied at Playwrights Horizons and Gotham Writers Workshop. Like his series protagonist, Jinx Ferrara, he’s from a large Italian-American family and grew up in New Jersey, where he currently resides.
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