The Catering Hall Mystery series is a great series with quirky, funny Italian American characters with lots of personality. Mia Carina and her father, reformed Family member, run the Belle View Banquet Manor of Queens, NY for Boss Danny Boldano Senior catering many events, parties, wedding events, funerals, baby showers and now, a reality show. The show is all about dons and donettes of the Italian community and it is hard to tell what is real and what is scripted. When the co-owner of the production company is killed and Little Danny, son of Big Danny is the main suspect, Big Danny asks Mia to find the real killer. There is a lot going on in this story including the younger Boldano son's wedding and romance problems for Mia and boyfriend, Shane. Mia stays busy running all the events around the show and being involved with the wedding. With the murder and then other attempted murders, Mia has a large suspect pool with the crew and cast members of the show to watch and check out. Another fun read and mystery to solve in the series. A little bit of a twist at the end.
I received a copy for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

One of the cozy mysteries I was anticipating this year was Maria DiRico’s Four Parties and a Funeral. It’s the follow-up to It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, which was one of my favorite reads of 2021. That book…I adored the characters, the mystery was engrossing, and, generally, I had a great time with it. And, so far, its sequel is one of my favorite reads of 2023.

Four Parties and a Funeral picks up after the events of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder. The holidays are over, it’s June, and the familiar cast and crew of Belle View (a catering hall)—Mia, Shane, Ravello, Cammie, and others—are busy. However, they quickly get embroiled in the over-the-top hijinks of reality show filming with a side of murder. I liked the way the story gradually built up to the mystery as well as the actual introduction of the crime. It was seamless. By then, there were a handful of characters who had the potential to be a suspect, because the situation was, for the most part, tense and competitive—especially between the cast of the show as well as the production team behind the camera. Added to all of that, the book also delved into the various relationships between the usual cast, giving each one some time to develop further. And I was pleased by how those aspects were sprinkled throughout the story, heightening the emotional stakes alongside the present danger.

Maria DiRico really delivered with another witty and entertaining story—full of the same charm, family drama, and sleuthing as its predecessor.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Kensington) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Four Parties and a Funeral is a wonderful addition to the Catering Hall Mystery series. It's summertime at Belle View and Mia is kept busy with weddings, bachelorette parties, reality show chaos, and of course, murder. The romance and friendships in this series are really refreshing and don't fall prey to typical tropes. Mia is a fun and relatable main character, and I really love and appreciate the accuracy in the details of having an Italian-American family. The author depicted accurate New Orleans settings and restaurants, making me want to return for a beignet ASAP!

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico. My comments are an independent, honest review.

This is book 4 in the series. Ellon is one of our fav cozy mystery writers and this series is a welcome addition to her others. She definitely writes what she knows, and all the little Italian family nuances are here and give authenticity to her stories. Her quick witted grandma is every Italian grandmom I know for example- from the crocheted tops to the devilish intent on winning Christmas light contests, LOL. With the catering hall under siege by a film company, Mia 'urged' to take care of her cousin, while dealing with a wedding and more, it's certain to be a recipe for reality tv disaster. A super quick read, this one will have you laughing and smiling all the way through!

This is the fourth book in the catering hall mystery series set in Queens, NY. On top of a busy catering season, Mia has to deal with the cast and crew of a reality TV show featuring would be Mafia dons and their girlfriends.

This didn’t work as well as the previous books in the series for me. There were way too many characters, many of whom didn’t serve to move the story along. And the mystery’s solution felt rushed - there were too many other things going on in the book.

Mia Carina & her staff at Belle View Banquet Manor are busy this summer hosting proms, graduations, and weddings. Then a casting call for the pilot of a reality show called Dons of Ditmars Boulevard invades Belle View. It soon becomes clear the production crew owner Giles & his executive producer ex-wife Ariadne are busy fighting and backstabbing each other as much as the hopeful dons and donettes. Then Giles' dead body is found in the pool house of a local mansion rented by the show. Donny Boldano's son Donny Jr is high up on the suspect list so the father asks Mia for help to clear his name.

At the same time, preparations for the upcoming wedding of Jamie Boldano to Connecticut sweetheart Madison are underway. Jamie & Madison's bachelor/bachelorette parties in New Orleans & wedding festivities in snooty Connecticut clash with the Italian clans from Astoria, Queens in a hilarious fashion.

Another fun entry in the Catering Hall mystery series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Kensington. All opinions are my own.

An engaging and fun whodunit mystery that will leave you coming back for more books by this talented author.

Maria DiRico is a great story teller. Whether she is engaging you with her characters in New York or writing as Ellen Byron down in the Bayou - her books never fail to capture the reader and transport them on a wonderful journey.

Four Parties and a Funeral is the 4th book in the Caterina Hall mysteries. Reformed mobsters gone legit. Mia Carino is the daughter of mobster enforcer for the Boldano family, Ravello Carino. They run Belle View Banquet hall in Astoria, Queens - NY. Mia and her Italian-American family and friends have had their share of run ins with murders. This installment has a reality show making a pilot episode of "goombahs" called Dons of Ditmars Blvd -with Donny Boldano jr being one of the "goombahs". Belle View is asked to cater the various events and host others. Fast forward to the murder of the production company's owner, Giles St. John being murdered and all signs pointing to Donny Jr. Donny Boldano Sr., steps in and quickly asks Mia to help clear his son's name, What follows is a fun read.

All the festivities with the Pilot show also take place at the same time of Jamie Boldano's (younger son and Mia's ex childhood sweetheart's) wedding to Connecticut sweetheart Madison. We see the funny dynamics of having the Queen's family mix with the upper crust New England one, with sailboats and cheese whip. Not to mention the film crew filming the bachelorette party in New Orleans to the wedding in Connecticut.

This book was in true DiRico fashion - a fun story that you do not want to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the advance copy of the book.

I jumped into this series at book four and this may have been a mistake. There were a huge number of characters and it took me quite a while to sort them all out.

Anyway it was a good story with an interesting mystery. The characters were quirky if a little bit too stereotypical from time to time. I liked the main character, Mia, who was organised and smart, but I reserved judgement on Cammie who was entertaining on the page of a book, but you certainly would not want to know her in real life.

There were murders and attempted murders, lots of red herrings and an effective conclusion. A nice way to spend a few reading hours.

The next catering hall mystery has Mia involved with a reality series about the dons in her area. When a dead body is found, Mia is on the case again.

A solid entry in this cozy mystery series.

Four Parties and a Funeral is a cozy mystery that follows Mia as she is tasked with catering and planning events for a reality television show. Shortly after filming begins, one of the show's producers is murdered and Mia's close family friend is the prime suspect. Mia is determined to find the real killer, while also running the banquet manor and planning her best friend's bachelorette party.

Four Parties and a Funeral is just an OK cozy mystery. I prefer my cozies to take place in more charming settings; Astoria didn't really give me the cozy vibe I was looking for. Also, the characters are quite over-the-top, which in this case worked for the reality show cast; however, I don't think it works for the main characters of the series. Furthermore, there are a lot of characters and it was a bit frustraing remembering all of the various familial and romantic relationships. Finally, the author uses a lot of sterotypes throughout the book, which I found distracting.

"Four Parties and a Funeral" is an OK cozy mystery series. I prefer the author's Bayou mysteries (written as Ellen Byron) for both the stories and cast of characters more than this series, however.

A fun cozy mystery that kept me reading all night! Loved the story and enjoyed the characters. Five stars!

FOUR PARTIES AND A FUNERAL is the fourth book in the Catering Hall Mystery series. You can always count on the author, Maria DiRico, to deliver an intriguing mystery, captivating characters, and her trademark humor, and in this newest release, she’s delivered in spades! With the laugh-out-loud set up of a casting call and filming of the reality show, Dons of Ditmars Boulevard, at Belle View catering hall, protagonist Mia Carina has her hands full. Ms. DiRico’s strong descriptive voice brought the characters and the setting to life, so it felt like I was there, experiencing all the zany chaos brought by the cast and crew. Mia is a compelling protagonist: strong and capable of handling any situation… like keeping her recovering mobster father on the straight and narrow. I also enjoyed the strong family relationships (both blood family and THE family) Mia has. Her crocheting-crazy grandmother is a hoot and THE family boss has Mia trying to manage his son and keep him out of trouble. Did I mention the humor?

While the reader might want to be sidetracked with all the comedy and goings on, Ms. DiRico deftly stays on track with the murder mystery. With such a large cast and crew on scene, there are more than enough suspects for Mia to question. The author pens twists, turns, and subplots to keep the reader on their toes. In the end, I still hadn’t figured out the culprit, and it came as a surprise, although with hindsight, the clues all made sense. This captivating book kept me turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next, all the while trying to keep my laughing quiet enough to not wake up the household. I, for one, can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Running a catering hall means there’s always food around… lots and lots of food. Ms. DiRico provides some recipes at the back of the book for home cooks to try out. I couldn’t wait to try out her recipe for Tricolor (Tre Colore) Cookies, aka Rainbow Cookies. More cake-like, these almond-flavored cookies hosts colorful layers with flavorful raspberry jam sandwiched between. A thin layer of chocolate provides the finishing touch, making these an elegant addition to any cookie platter or dessert try.

Mia Carina works at her family Catering Hall in Astoria Queens NY. Her Family has links to the Mob, her brother is in jail and her father is retired from the business. Then she gets news she will be catering for a movie production with goombas and girlfriends causing chaos and great scenes for the reality TV show they are filming. Soon there is a murder in the mansion they are renting for the filming and Mia and her friends soon are deeply involved. I thought the book was fun and the cast and crew were a interesting and dynamic view of behind the scenes look at the movie production and crew.

Maria DiRico's Four Parties and A Funeral is a fun read falling well in line with the three delightful, frustrating, heartwarming earlier books in the Catering Hall Mystery series. Catering and providing the craft table for a reality TV program seemed like a great filler for Belle View's slower time, but Mia soon figures out that working with a reality show is as fun as watching one if you are not a fan of reality shows, especially when the show features overblow future Mafia don's and donettes, Mia's word, all of whom are fighting for camera time by out "don"ning the rest. If it isn't bad enough that Shane has been acting strangely just when things are going well between them, Mia is on scene when a body turns up. If you are guessing that it is someone few like, you are right, but you will have to wait to see which one of the unpleasant characters buys it. With too many suspects floating around and so many distractions, Mia is afraid that no one will be able to point the finger at the true villain.
My thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Cozies for the chance to enjoy and share this delightful time with my friends and followers. Maria DeRico is awesome.
#Netgalley #KensingtonCozies #MariaDiRico #Catering Hall Mystery

A top notch cozy with interesting characters. Humor and whodunit abound.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

series, cozy-mystery, family-dynamics, murder, murder-investigation, friendship, law-enforcement, small-business, Italian-customs, the-mob, verbal-humor, restaurant, TV/film-industry, caterer, catering, family-drama, relationships, relatives, amateur-sleuth*****

More hilarity and goofy characters who rarely meet the norm for their stated type from a favorite author! The whole story and backstory are clear and well crafted as well, but it's the characters and the humor that I love. It's more than just about solving the murder, but the whole Family thing combined with the lifestyles involved. Loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

It’s not very often that a book makes me actually laugh but this book did I loved it. There was plenty of suspects to keep the mystery alive. I was engrossed in this read from the first page. I highly recommend

Thank you NetGalley for the arc to review

Setting the Scene: It is June in Astoria, Queens, New York, and things are hopping at Belle View Banquet Manor, everything from weddings to funerals (for goldfish?) to proms, but a reality TV show is both surprising and disturbing given that the subject is "Dons of Ditmars Boulevard." The "Family" is not going to be happy, and that is before the murder.

What I Thought: Wow, wow, wow, so much to unravel in this latest release in Ellen Byron's Catering Hall Mystery series. It was a slow start, but after a few chapters I couldn't stop. Treat yourself to the latest goings on at Belle View, from chaos to murder to shattering secrets, and more. Mia and company (not to mention Family - with a capital "eff") are in for a bumpy ride. Not to worry, there are still laughs to be enjoyed along the way, and hats off to Ellen for using "eponymously" and "phantasmagoria."

Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico is book #4 in the Catering Hall Mysteries series. Mia Carina is working with her father to run Belle View, a catering hall. Her father works for the Boldano crime family but he and this business are legitimate. Mia somehow manages to get involved in helping the police solve murders. In this book the main suspect is Donny Boldano Junior, son of crime boss Donny Boldano Senior. Boldano Senior has asked Mia to help prove Junior's innocence. There's plenty of action and suspense. I really like the characters in this series. They make me wish they were real people and I could get to know them.