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A Deadly Habit: A Penelope Santucci Mystery
When Pen was a child, she dreamt of being a nun. She dressed in bed sheets and roller-skated regularly into the confessional of Father Daniel Kopecky. There she bared her soul, fabricating sins only a precocious eight-year-old could invent. As a twenty-seven-year-old woman, she's doing the same thing, sans the roller skates and bed sheets. Only this time, she isn't inventing stories. She's confessing her involvement in a murder; a murder she didn't commit, but one in which she is the most promising suspect. Wisecracking, safecracking Pen lures an elderly priest and a young nun into committing felonies on their wild search for the truth. Hardly appropriate behavior for the dedicated probation officer, but while Pen believes in her job, she has little faith in the justice system. Unfortunately, Pen digs herself deeper into trouble and straight into a muddy grave, dragging her sexy attorney in with her. If they ever get out of it alive, he plans to wring her neck himself. That is, if the thugs who are after the money she found don't get her first.
315 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 20, 2018
As far a cozy mystery goes- this was really a fun and cute read. Every once in a while I pick up a cozy for a fun popcorn for the brain type read. The only sad thing about this is there is no other books to follow..... Penelope Santucci was such a fun character! Enjoyed this read- Now back to my thriller, killer, psycho killer books!!
July 26, 2016
The author is a Janet Evanovich wanna be, but tries too hard with the farcical situations she places her heroine in.
June 9, 2012
Thanks to Bostick Communications for my ARC of A Deadly Habit.
Well, you all know how I love a good mystery, and it's even better when it happens to be a mystery that is full of humor. A Deadly Habit is Andrea Sisco's debut novel, and in my opinion it is a great start! Pen Santucci is a hilarious amateur detective, trying to clear herself of her soon-to-be-ex-husband's murder. You never know what might come out of her mouth, but chances are she would have been better off keeping it shut. Her sister, Germaine (the nun) is another great character--she lives a life devoted to God but can't resist getting involved with Pen's search for the truth. Yes, you really feel for Pen's lawyer, Marco, who is doing all he can to make sure his client isn't charged with murder, but has to be her keeper, as well. But he is determined to help Pen through this, if only due to the fact that he owes Father Daniel Kopecky a favor. I think Father Kopecky got a little more than he bargained for when Pen came to confession, though.
Yes, a great set of characters really helps to make this story work. As for the mystery itself, it's pretty well done, with just enough given to the reader to let them have a guess at figuring out who really murdered Pen's jerk of husband, Paul. The main focus is really on Pen's crazy antics to discover the truth. I also rather liked that while you sense an attraction between Marco and Pen, it's not really addressed in great detail in the book, just a few lines here and there, leaving you to wonder what may come of the pair. It's become so common to weave in romances between principle characters in suspense/mystery books these days, it was refreshing to be left hanging about that this time around.
While I normally prefer books to be written from a third person point of view, the fact that A Deadly Habit was written entirely from Pen's point of view did not really hurt the book. It actually gives further insight into Pen's character and why she is the way she is. (Hmmm, did I mention her crazy mother??) Overall, the writing is generally easy to read, if a bit choppy at times--to me that is easily overlooked and did not hamper my enjoyment of the story.
If you enjoy mysteries or are looking for a book to give you a few laughs, I'd recommend checking out A Deadly Habit, due out this month. For a sneak peak, you can even read the first chapter here. And an additional note from Andrea herself--she loves talking with book clubs, so if you have any interest in having Andrea visit your book club (via phone or in person) please visit her web site and drop her a note!
Well, you all know how I love a good mystery, and it's even better when it happens to be a mystery that is full of humor. A Deadly Habit is Andrea Sisco's debut novel, and in my opinion it is a great start! Pen Santucci is a hilarious amateur detective, trying to clear herself of her soon-to-be-ex-husband's murder. You never know what might come out of her mouth, but chances are she would have been better off keeping it shut. Her sister, Germaine (the nun) is another great character--she lives a life devoted to God but can't resist getting involved with Pen's search for the truth. Yes, you really feel for Pen's lawyer, Marco, who is doing all he can to make sure his client isn't charged with murder, but has to be her keeper, as well. But he is determined to help Pen through this, if only due to the fact that he owes Father Daniel Kopecky a favor. I think Father Kopecky got a little more than he bargained for when Pen came to confession, though.
Yes, a great set of characters really helps to make this story work. As for the mystery itself, it's pretty well done, with just enough given to the reader to let them have a guess at figuring out who really murdered Pen's jerk of husband, Paul. The main focus is really on Pen's crazy antics to discover the truth. I also rather liked that while you sense an attraction between Marco and Pen, it's not really addressed in great detail in the book, just a few lines here and there, leaving you to wonder what may come of the pair. It's become so common to weave in romances between principle characters in suspense/mystery books these days, it was refreshing to be left hanging about that this time around.
While I normally prefer books to be written from a third person point of view, the fact that A Deadly Habit was written entirely from Pen's point of view did not really hurt the book. It actually gives further insight into Pen's character and why she is the way she is. (Hmmm, did I mention her crazy mother??) Overall, the writing is generally easy to read, if a bit choppy at times--to me that is easily overlooked and did not hamper my enjoyment of the story.
If you enjoy mysteries or are looking for a book to give you a few laughs, I'd recommend checking out A Deadly Habit, due out this month. For a sneak peak, you can even read the first chapter here. And an additional note from Andrea herself--she loves talking with book clubs, so if you have any interest in having Andrea visit your book club (via phone or in person) please visit her web site and drop her a note!
April 16, 2009
Pen always wanted to be a Catholic as a child, so when she comes to Father Daniel with a really outrageous confession, it doesn't take long for him to a) figure out who she is, and b) assume her confession is as fabricated as they were when she visited his church as a child. Breaking into her soon-to-be- ex' house? Finding him murdered on the floor? Being wanted by the police for that specific reason? Come on, who'd fall for that??
Unfortunately for Pen, this was actually exactly what happened and as the police seem convinced that she's "guilty until proven innocent", Pen needs all the help she can get. Father Daniel helps her get a lawyer, and the three of them, together with Pen's sister (who actually did turn Catholic and become a nun - yes, Pen's sister is a Sister) tries to keep Pen out of jail until the real culprit is found. Unfortunately, Pen believes that the best way to do that is to find the murderer by herself, causing her situation to steadily keep going from bad to worse, as she is almost caught breaking into a judge's house, has her flat broken into and is personally assaulted by - presumably - mug-hired thugs while simultaneously having to put up with her mother-in-law's accusations and trying to avoid her own over-protective mother.
A Deadly Habit is an interesting whodunnit that had me turning pages until the very end. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and especially fell in love with Pen's devil-may-care attitude, and her father-in-law's desperate attempts to reconcile Pen and his wife.
My main reason for not rating the book higher was that I felt the ending came a bit out of the blue. There were certain clues, but very vague and easily dismissed, both by the reader and by Pen, until it all suddenly came to a head. I would have appreciated a better build-up, so that the ending hadn't felt as such a stroke of luck, but had given the reader a chance to guess as well.
Unfortunately for Pen, this was actually exactly what happened and as the police seem convinced that she's "guilty until proven innocent", Pen needs all the help she can get. Father Daniel helps her get a lawyer, and the three of them, together with Pen's sister (who actually did turn Catholic and become a nun - yes, Pen's sister is a Sister) tries to keep Pen out of jail until the real culprit is found. Unfortunately, Pen believes that the best way to do that is to find the murderer by herself, causing her situation to steadily keep going from bad to worse, as she is almost caught breaking into a judge's house, has her flat broken into and is personally assaulted by - presumably - mug-hired thugs while simultaneously having to put up with her mother-in-law's accusations and trying to avoid her own over-protective mother.
A Deadly Habit is an interesting whodunnit that had me turning pages until the very end. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and especially fell in love with Pen's devil-may-care attitude, and her father-in-law's desperate attempts to reconcile Pen and his wife.
My main reason for not rating the book higher was that I felt the ending came a bit out of the blue. There were certain clues, but very vague and easily dismissed, both by the reader and by Pen, until it all suddenly came to a head. I would have appreciated a better build-up, so that the ending hadn't felt as such a stroke of luck, but had given the reader a chance to guess as well.
June 8, 2009
Who is Penelope Santucci? She’s not a Catholic although she tends to go to confession on occasion. She is not a murderer although the police suspect she might have killed her husband. She is fearless and determined to prove that although she was getting a divorce that she most certainly did not kill her husband.
She discovered her husband Paul’s body when she broke into his house to recover her belongings. Being a good citizen, she did call the police and report what she found but she failed to give her name and she did disguise her voice. After explaining all of this to Father Daniel Kopecky, he advises her that she had better get a lawyer and do it quickly.
Father Kopecky refers her to Mario Silva, a defense lawyer, who agrees to take the case as a favor to Father Kopecky. Mario soon finds he has his hands full as Pen Santucci decides to head up her own investigation.
Pen manages to include not only Father Kopecky in her antics but gets her sister, Germaine, who is a real Catholic and a real Nun, to participate as well. Pen takes her reader on a wild ride with never dull moment.
She discovered her husband Paul’s body when she broke into his house to recover her belongings. Being a good citizen, she did call the police and report what she found but she failed to give her name and she did disguise her voice. After explaining all of this to Father Daniel Kopecky, he advises her that she had better get a lawyer and do it quickly.
Father Kopecky refers her to Mario Silva, a defense lawyer, who agrees to take the case as a favor to Father Kopecky. Mario soon finds he has his hands full as Pen Santucci decides to head up her own investigation.
Pen manages to include not only Father Kopecky in her antics but gets her sister, Germaine, who is a real Catholic and a real Nun, to participate as well. Pen takes her reader on a wild ride with never dull moment.
June 6, 2009
Penelope Santucci dreamed of becoming a nun as a child but never did since she was a rare non-Catholic Italian. Now she's afraid she may be convicted of a murder she didn't commit so she goes to confession and ends up involving an elderly priest, a nun (who is her sister that did convert) and a sexy lawyer in her shenanigans trying to clear her name. The mystery continues right into the final chapter.
A Deadly Habit is an enjoyable humorous murder mystery with an unpredictable ending. The characters are funny without being disrespectful of the Catholic faith (this is something important to this cradle Catholic). It's a great book to read by the pool this summer and I look forward to more books by Andrea Sisco.
If you'd like to read the first chapter, you can do so at: http://www.andreasisco.com/books.html
A Deadly Habit will be released in July 2009.
A Deadly Habit is an enjoyable humorous murder mystery with an unpredictable ending. The characters are funny without being disrespectful of the Catholic faith (this is something important to this cradle Catholic). It's a great book to read by the pool this summer and I look forward to more books by Andrea Sisco.
If you'd like to read the first chapter, you can do so at: http://www.andreasisco.com/books.html
A Deadly Habit will be released in July 2009.
December 10, 2009
Spunky probation officer Pen Santucci finds her almost ex-husband dead when she breaks into her former home to reclaim some of her possessions. Naturally, the police suspect her; equally naturally, Pen doesn't want to go to prison for a crime she didn't commit. She decides that she has to solve the mystery herself, with the help of her sister, who is a nun; and the parish priest of her childhood, who indulged her position as a child of the only non-Catholic Italian family in a neighborhood of Polish Catholics. Her hunky lawyer, however, has to be kept in the dark, for fear he'll quit as Pen's attorney. Unfortunately, when I read this, I was not in the mood for Sisco's type of humor; in a different mood, I'm sure it would be more amusing.
March 30, 2015
Penelope (Pen) Santucci is accused of killing her former husband, a man who no one except his mother seemed to like. She enlists the help of her old priest (even though she is not catholic) and her sister who is a nun to help clear her name. The priest helps her get a lawyer – a hot, single, patient man who owes the priest a favor. Pen gets beat up often by mobsters in this book, but managed to clear her name and not get killed. There were some parts of this book that were funny, but I found myself getting annoyed at all the antics – reminded me too much of Stephanie Plum in the the repetitive repetitive repetitive later books.
October 19, 2009
Very cute story. Penelope is hilarious. Her husband is murdered and everyone thinks she did it, well almost everyone. One thing about Penelope is that she can talk herself and her friends into anything in order to prove her innocence. She's even able to convince a nun and a priest to help her commit a felony! This was well written and a fun read.
July 21, 2014
Not only was this a very good mystery book, but it was also very funny. My wife was wondering what was going on because most mysteries are not all that funny and so she does not hear me laughing my head off while reading hardly ever. This was worth 10 stars; five for the being a good mystery and five for being a good humor book.
November 10, 2010
Refreshing, different sort of mystery story; engaging and funny as well. See my full review "Andrea Sisco Has a Deadly Habit" at http://hubpages.com/t/980c5
May 12, 2013
The book was funny and interesting all while solving a crime.... She needs to write another....
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews