Nonna Maria and the Case of the Stolen Necklace is a charming whodunit with a very smart amateur detective!

Nonna Maria lives on the island of Ischia in Italy, where she cooks and bakes and takes care of not only her family, but many other residents of the island as well. Her range of influence goes further, though, into all parts of Italy, as she is one of those people who everyone knows, and earns people's love and respect by doing the right thing (at least most of the time).

There are two cases occupying her time. One is the case mentioned in the title, a necklace that has been reported stolen from Grand Hotel Excelsior. Arianna Conte insists that the maid must have taken it, but, unknown to her, the maid is Nonna Maria's goddaughter, and Nonna Maria isn't going to let her be blamed for something she didn't do.

The second case involves a dead body. Nonna Maria is fairly sure she knows who the dead body is, and if she knows that, she also knows why she was killed and who did it. Nonna Maria feels guilt about her death because she knows that there was something she could have done years ago that might have prevented this death.

This book focuses on the solving of these cases, but it also focuses on Nonna Maria and the other residents of Ischia. I enjoy mysteries that expose the minutiae of daily life in a new place, like this small island in Italy. I had to get used to the rhythm and structure of how this story was told, because it is different from other cozy mysteries. The third-person structure separates you from the character in some ways, but it still makes for a good story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.