This episode of Cozy Ink Podcast features an interview with cozy mystery author J.D. (Michael) Griffo. We discuss his Ferrara Family cozy mystery series.
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J.D.’s books are available at a variety of retailers with links at:
About the Books:
Murder on Memory Lake (Book 1)
For Alberta Scaglione, her golden years are turning out much more differently than she expected—and much more deadly . . .
Alberta Scaglione’ s spinster aunt had some secrets—like the fortune she squirreled away and a secret lake house in Tranquility, New Jersey. More surprising: she’s left it all to Alberta. Alberta, a widow, is no spring chicken and she’s gotten used to disappointment. So having a beautiful view, surrounded by hydrangeas, honeysuckle, and her cat, Lola, sounds blissful after years of yelling and bickering and cooking countless lasagnas.
But Tranquility isn’t as peaceful as it sounds. There’s a body in the water—and it belongs to Alberta’s childhood nemesis. Alberta suspects foul play and when Alberta’s estranged granddaughter, an aspiring crime reporter, shows up, it only makes sense for them to team up and investigate . . .
Murder in Tranquility Park (Book 2)
Alberta Scaglione and her twentysomething granddaughter, Jinx, love to spend time—and solve crime—together . . .
Ever since Alberta Scaglione inherited her spinster aunt’s Cape Cod cottage, she’s been enjoying the good life in Tranquility, New Jersey, with her black cat, Lola. But since things are mostly quiet in this town, she finds other things to do—like joining Jinx for morning jogs in Tranquility Park. She has to do something to stay healthy, as long as it doesn’t involve Jinx’s healthful tofu sausages and gluten-free pasta. But when they stumble across a treehouse hidden in the trees, and a dead body underneath it, they take a detour into solving a murder. Now the Ferrara ladies will have to exercise extreme caution to avoid a permanent decline in their health . . .
Murder at Icicle Lodge (Book 3)
Seasoned Italian-American Alberta Scaglione can whip up a traditional dish for any occasion. But when an impromptu vacation turns deadly, can she sift out the deadly ingredient?
When her granddaughter lands a reporting gig at the grand opening of the luxurious Icicle Lodge, Alberta and friends tag along for a week of much-needed R&R amid the snowcapped hills of northeastern Pennsylvania. But the idyllic winter getaway becomes a nightmare after the gang discovers blood on the ice—and the dead body of celebrity guest Pamela Gregory, a frosty Olympic gold medal figure skater who won herself more enemies than fans . . .
With a killer on the loose, multiple suspects, and a blizzard on the way, Alberta must now race to crack a bone-chilling case . . . before the outspoken Ferrara ladies get served murder: family style!
Murder at Veronica’s Diner (Book 4)
In J.D. Griffo’s fourth Ferrara Family Mystery featuring a multi-generational Italian-American sleuthing duo Alberta Scaglione and her twentysomething granddaughter, murder is on the menu at Tranquility, New Jersey’s local diner…
Alberta Scaglione thinks her cooking is better than anyone’s in Tranquility, New Jersey–but she doesn’t mind an occasional visit to Veronica’s Diner. During the breakfast rush, waitress Teri Jo seems stressed out. Not surprising on a busy morning, though Alberta, her sister Helen, and her granddaughter Jinx find it odd when Teri Jo asks them to deliver a package for her “just in case.”
Minutes later, Teri Jo rushes back to their table–not with a check in her hand but with a knife in her back. Veronica is upset but says she knows virtually nothing about her employee’s past, and the ladies aren’t sure whether to view her with sympathy or suspicion. Then they find an unusual figurine on the ground while snooping in the vicinity, and it becomes clear that this is a case for the Ferrara Family. With such a crowd at the crime scene, there are plenty of potential murderers on the menu, and the Ferraras will travel everywhere to figure out exactly where that figurine fits in…
Murder at St. Winifred’s Academy (Book 5)
Tranquility, New Jersey’s amateur drama troupe is staging a murder mystery at St. Winifred’s Academy and Alberta Scaglione couldn’t be more thrilled. Even her Italian-American famiglia are getting in on the act. But someone’s making deadly revisions to the script…
Alberta can hardly believe it. Her childhood screen idol, 1950s Hollywood starlet Missy Michaels, has signed up for the local Tranquility Players revival of the classic Arsenic and Old Lace. But before Missy memorizes a single line, she’s found dead in her dressing room wrapped in lace and clutching a bottle of arsenic. The ultimate drama-queen suicide? Everyone thinks so–except Alberta. A Ferrara woman knows murder when she sees it. Alberta also knows producer Nola Kirkpatrick’s checkered past: whenever she’s around, trouble abounds.
Alberta and her crime-reporting partner-in-sleuthing granddaughter, Jinx, have a hunch the murderer is among the Players. So Alberta joins the cast–reluctantly playing Missy’s role–to get closer to the truth. She notices the director is a little unbalanced, but aren’t they all? The leading man is a wildly obsessive Missy Michaels fanboy–but a murderer? Of course, the show must go on. But if Alberta and Jinx can’t nab the killer before opening night, it may mean curtains for more Players…including Alberta.
About the Author:
J.D. Griffo is the award-winning author of the Ferrara Family Mysteries, several screenplays, and a number of YA novels written under the name Michael Griffo. A graduate of New York University, he has studied at Playwrights Horizons and Gotham Writers Workshop. Like his series protagonist, Alberta Ferrara, he’s from a large Italian-American family and grew up in New Jersey, where he currently resides. He can be found online at MichaelGriffo.com, on Instagram @j.d.griffo or on Twitter @Michael2264.
Connect with J.D. on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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