Murder at the Mistletoe Ball (A Ferrara Family Mystery Book 6)

This is the sixth in Griffo's Ferrara Family Mystery stories, wherein Alberta Ferrara Scaglione, her sister Helen (a former nun), her ex-sister-in-law Joyce (who's African-American and divorced from Berta's brother Rocco), and her granddaughter Gina, known to everyone as "Jinx," a journalist for the local New Jersey paper, have had their hands full solving mysteries around the little town of Tranquility, New Jersey, ever since Alberta inherited a lake house from her aunt. But now Alberta and Co. not only have a new mystery, but there's a chance that she might finally be reunited with her estranged daughter Lisa Marie. She and her daughter have always locked horns, especially when Lisa Marie decided to marry Tommy Maldonado instead of attending college. But now Jinx's rather wild brother Sergio has vanished after becoming enfatuated with a woman named Natalie, and Lisa Marie needs her mother's help.And she needs it even more when Sergio is accused of Natalie's murder.Christmas hijinks with the Ferraras along with Helen's old nemesis Father Sal, Alberta's new beau Sloan, and Jinx's boyfriend Freddy, plus the mystery of Natalie's death, and a little help from Tranquility's police chief Vinny D'Angelo, all wrapped up in the usual Italian sayings and descriptions of food, food, food (how do the Ferrara folks stay so skinny eating all this food?). We finally get to meet Lisa Marie (who's always sounded like a bit of a pill) and Tommy, and discover they're not so bad after all.(My mystery after reading this: is Griffo a closet LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT fan? Because his description of Vinny sounds like a young Vincent D'Onofrio down to his being six foot four and having size thirteen shoes, and the character even has a sister Frances, which was the name of D'Onofrio's character's mothers name on CI. Awfully coincidental!)

Murder At The Mistletoe Ball will keep readers guessing and fill the holidays with mystery and fun. You just have to love Alberta. She is a delightful, funny, straightforward forward no-nonsense kind of lady, except when it comes to her daughter or a murder investigation. Jinx, Alberta’s granddaughter, and sidekick is becoming more like her every day, something that may not please Jinx’s mother. When the holidays come around, and the ball preparations are in full swing, an unexpected visitor shows up in Tranquility, Lisa Marie, Alberta’s estranged daughter.The characters in this series remind me of my own family. Sometimes we get along; sometimes, we don’t talk to each other for years. But Alberta and Lisa Marie soon realize that they have to deal with the past and move beyond the hurt and grief. Jinx tries her best not to take sides, but with her brother missing and everyone on pins and needles with the upcoming holiday festivities in Tranquility, and the tension between Alberta and Lisa Marie, it isn’t easy to keep her mouth shut and let them handle things in their own way.When Sergio’s girlfriend, and the reason for his disappearance from his parent’s life, and their sudden appearance in Alberta’s life, is found murdered, she, Jinx, and Lisa Marie set out to prove that he isn’t the killer. It’s not easy, the victim had a lot of enemies, and those she called friends aren’t as innocent as they try to appear. It looks like several people in and around the town of Tranquility have secrets and motives. Even Sergio and his parents are suspects. Things turn dark when the victim’s past comes to light and her secrets are unraveled. It takes everything Alberta, Jinx, and Lisa Marie have to find the killer, escape the clutches of death, save Sergio, and have a merry holiday.Tranquility is a lovely setting for Murder At The Mistletoe Ball. It is described in loving detail without too many mundane explanations. Alberta, Jinx, and Lisa Marie keep readers smiling and filled with a true sense of the holiday season. The mystery is well written, the suspects believable, and the evidence abundant. The pleasure readers derive from the mother-daughter reunion, and the book’s ending will stay with them long after they turn the last page. I am happy to know that Alberta will finally find peace with the past and looks forward to the future.

Christmas is coming to Tranquility and the ladies are getting ready for the return of an old historic ball the town held for years. Alberta is in for a bigger surprise though when she gets a card from her estranged daughter, Lisa Marie, asking for her mother’s help. It’s been so long since the two have seen each other, and Alberta is nervous, but she will always answer the call of family. Especially when she finds out her grandson has left home to follow a sketchy woman he thinks he is in love with, though his parents see her for the bad seed they believe she is.When the young woman who has led Sergio astray falls out of a snow woman at the ball and he is found holding the murder weapon, Alberta knows that she and the Ferrara ladies are on the case. They will stop at nothing to prove his innocence, even if they all harbor a small bit of doubt that his anger issues could have led to him accidentally hurting the young woman. As the ladies dig deeper and uncover more details, they find a much bigger problem in their town and need to balance sleuthing with safety if they want to have the whole family home for Christmas.I love this series. I have some Italian family members and can hear my cousin saying “Ma” every time Lisa Marie does. Family is truly everything and these ladies live it each and every day. Be sure to check out the recipes at the end of the book as well!

It's been a long 14 years since Alberta and her daughter Lisa Marie spent time (or talked, really) with one another but now Lisa Marie needs Alberta's help to find her son Sergio. Unfortunately, Sergio is found all too soon when his girlfriend, the dreadful Natalie is murdered and her corpse stuffed into a decoration at the Mistletoe Ball. Cozy readers know that she had lots of enemies and that there will be red herrings before the true villain is found. This series (and this will be fine as a standalone) is fun for the characters- the "mature" Alberta, Jinx her granddaughter, and Helen, the ex-nun- as well as for the setting in Tranquility, New Jersey. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read.

This was part of my Christmas mysteries purchase and the first time I have read a book by J.D. Griffo and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I intend to try his previous titles soon