#BookReview: Al Dente's Inferno (Tuscan Cooking School Mystery #1) by Stephanie Cole

Synopsis: An American chef will have to serve up more than good eats if she wants to establish a successful farm-to-table cooking school in Tuscany, in this charming first installment in a new cozy mystery series set in Italy. 

When Nell Valenti is offered a chance to move to Tuscany to help transform an aging villa into a farm-to-table cooking school, she eagerly accepts. After all, both her job and her love life in America have been feeling stale. Plus, she'll get the chance to work under the acclaimed Italian Chef Claudio Orlandini.

But Nell gets more than she bargained for when she arrives. With only a day to go until the launch dinner for the cooking school, the villa is in shambles, and Chef O is blissfully oblivious of the work that needs to be done before a group of local dignitaries arrive, along with a filmmaker sent to showcase and advertise the new school. The situation only worsens when Nell discovers that the filmmaker is an ex-boyfriend, and he’s found murdered later that night. Even worse, Chef O has disappeared, and accusations of murder could shut the school down for good.

As tensions reach a boiling point at the villa, Nell must throw her chef's hat into the ring, and investigate the murder herself. Because if she fails to solve the case, her career, or even her life, could be next on the chopping block.


Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: ★★★
My Review: The murder mystery in this one was very light as I figured out the ending before it happened.  I did love the setting and the characters but the story itself just didn't do it well.  As for cozy mysteries this wasn't the best one that I have read. 

Praise for Al Dente's Inferno
"Tuscan charm, humor, and fantastic food! Stephanie Cole paints Tuscany vividly from the olive groves to the vineyards. Breakfasts of Bavarian-filled pastry and elegant dinners with white truffle pappardelle blend with clever sleuthing and hysterical mishaps. A delightful mystery, both comforting and exotic, peppered with unexpected characters."--Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Dog Who Knew Too Much

"An intriguing mystery and an intelligent heroine make for the perfect combination.  Pull up a chair, pass the parmesan, mangia!"—Kylie Logan, national bestselling author of Italian Iced
  
“This book made me want to travel to Tuscany, live in a centuries-old convent in Cortona…and follow the engaging Nell Valenti on every adventure.”—Julia Buckley, bestselling author of the Writer's Apprentice novels

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Posted in: 3 Stars, Adult, Berkley, Netgalley, Review