Book Review: Amaretto Amber (Franki Amato Mysteries #3) by Traci Andrighetti

Amaretto Amber by Traci Andrighetti
Narrator: Madeline Mrozek
Series: Franki Amato Mysteries #3
Published by Gemma Halliday on June 2nd 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery
Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Narrator
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**Now in development for a TV movie!**From USA Today bestselling author Traci Andrighetti...

Private investigator Franki Amato has just turned thirty, and she feels anything but festive. For starters, she can’t have cake because she’s given up sweets, and one of her teeth is torturing her. To add insult to birthday injury, she has to investigate a surreal strip club homicide—with her sixtyish ex-stripper landlady. Then her Sicilian grandma crashes the New Orleans non-party and insists that she steal a lemon to land a husband. Unfortunately for Franki, the man she has in mind has his mind somewhere else, and their relationship seems to have soured. Adding to her troubles, she has to figure out what a missing amber pendant and a mysterious amaretto bottle have to do with the murder, not to mention why she’s being followed. When a second dancer goes down and a third is threatened, Franki turns to a weird witch to crack the case and cancel a curse before someone blows out her candles for good.

Franki Amato Mysteries:Limoncello Yellow (book #1)Prosecco Pink (book #2)Rosolio Red (holiday short story)Amaretto Amber (book #3)

"Andrighetti’s dialogue is genuine yet uproarious, and her glowing characters animatedly leap off the page. Her sparkling wit keeps the hijinks brimming with merriment."—Long Island Book Reviews

"Traci Andrighetti's Franki Amato Mysteries have me tickled pink! Her smart, sassy heroine, wacky cast of characters, and vividly original settings had me glued to the page. I can’t wait to read more from this author!"—Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling author

"Traci's writing is sharp and funny; the world she paints leaps off the page and makes the reader laugh out loud…. A thoroughly enjoyable new voice in fiction!”—Kristin Harmel, Internationally bestselling novelist (The Sweetness of Forgetting)

This is the fifth installment about Franki Amato, a young PI of Italian origin. In this book she just turns thirty and her family will put quite some pressure in getting her married as soon as possible. In the meantime she will be investigating an extravagant murder occurred in a striptease club.

Even though I would not count cozy mysteries among my favorite genres, I like turning to this genre now and then since I find it very refreshing and helps me decompress and recover in times of stress or reading slumps. I find them very easy to follow and, even though my ideals are quite different from what generally these books transpire. I am not the typical traditional girl, but I do sometimes enjoy reading about this kind of characters.

I found Franki a bit less traditional than other characters in cozy mysteries, even though her family was. She had a boyfriend though with which he wanted to stay and work to improve their relationship. As in many cozy mysteries, there is a cop which is the ‘nemesis’ to our main character.

There are many hilarious scenes in this book, sometimes caused by Franki’s bad luck, but other times due to her family quirks. When reading a cozy mystery I want to be able to laugh, to relax and, also connect to the main character (since they are also women, and they are around my age). This book delivers all this, plus offering an interesting and convoluted story.

One of the best parts of this audiobook was Madeline Mrozek’s narration. She has a quite ample range of voices and accents to make an audiobook a very enjoyable experience. There were many characters in this book, but thanks to Madeline it was easy to know which one was talking. She has also incredible interpretation skills, bringing the characters to life. I will definitely look for this narrator again.

This is book three of a series but it can be read as a standalone. It refers from time to time to past events but in my opinion, reading books one and two is not a requirement.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am glad that I have another cozy mysteries series for those moments when I need an easy and light listen.

I received a free copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

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