Book Review

Pentimento Mori by Valeria Corciolani

Published originally in Italian in 2021

English Translation by Kazabo Publishing July 16, 2024

I absolutely love Corciolani's humor and writing style. This book is a fun, cozy, art/history, mystery with a wonderfully relatable main character. Edna, a renowned art historian, wants nothing more than to enjoy a quiet, peaceful existence with her chickens, all named after famous movie starlets like Marilyn and Lollobrigida. As someone who also loves naming her hens after famous divas, I got quite the chuckle.

Already exasperated by, Zara, her eccentric elderly mother, who can't seem to keep a housekeeper to save her life, poor Edna suddenly finds herself the victim of pure circumstance. She stumbles upon a dead body and a highly suspicious, medieval piece of artwork. Edna can't help herself from doing a little sleuthing, and soon finds herself caught up in a mystery far more complex than she anticipated.

The colorful cast of characters, Ottavio who's attire has him resembling the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland being my favorite, snarky humor, sassy banter, and fascinating details about art restoration made this book such a treat to read. I would love to dive into more of Corciolani's works and sincerely hope to see more of them translated into English in the near future.

Thank you to Kazabo Publishing for the wonderful opportunity to read and review this book.

Rating: ★★★★★