Of Masques and Murder by Maureen Klovers

Rita Calabrese lives in Acorn Hollow, a small Italian-American community located in New York. At the Carnevale Masquerade Ball, one of the attendees collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Even though the police deem it an accident, Rita suspects foul play. When the fiancée of the local winery owner is found murdered, Rita decides it is time to conduct her own investigation, especially since she has no confidence in the sheriff attached to the case. While busy trying to figure out the guilty party, she makes a challenging Lent vow, writes articles for the local newspaper, goes on a foraging expedition, participates in a cooking competition, and deals with crises that affect both family and non-family members.

"Of Masques and Murder" is the fourth book in the Rita Calabrese Mystery Series, and one that continues with the adventures of Rita that revolve around family and criminal acts. Each character comes with their own distinct voice, whether they exhibit positive and/or negative traits, that give rise to conflicts and make the story more interesting. A number of possible suspects who have complicated reasons for being guilty keeps readers guessing until the final reveal.

Maureen Klovers does a good job of bringing the story alive in readers’ minds with her use of descriptive language. Fascinating tidbits not only about the Carnevale festival but also a bit of history behind some of the delicious-sounding recipes listed at the end adds to the overall appeal of this compelling mystery novel. The Italian dialect in the story is written in italics, and an Italian-English glossary is at the end of the book for words, phrases, and sentences that are either not translated within the text or cannot be figured out from the context in which they are used. Even though there are references to previous adventures of Rita’s, the book can be read as a stand-alone. I look forward to future installments.