MRC RECOMMENDS: The Itch of Greed by Christa Nardi
“…an engaging mystery that’s fast-paced and twisty enough to keep you guessing, with well-written characters that you want to get to know.”
—The Mystery Review Crew
The Itch of Greed
By Christa Nardi
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Izzie Di Sante Mystery, Book 6
A dark cloud hangs over baseball season in small town Rosedale when star pitcher Randy Kampton is taken out of the game for good.
The DA is determined to pin the crime on Cole Rigley, a friend’s brother and fellow pitcher, citing the fierce competition for a major league trade as his motive for murder. Rigley’s brother, asks Henry and reluctant restaurant owner Izzie Di Sante to help prove his innocence. Adding fuel to the fire, Kampton stole Rigley’s girlfriend months earlier.
While Kampton’s pitching skills are universally acknowledged, no one, not fans or teammates, has a kind word to say about him, making for a long list of suspects. Rigley, on the other hand, is respected for his talent and team spirit. The wild card is another pitcher recovering from a car accident, whose open roster spot has all three men vying for the same prize.
In Rosedale, loyalty to the minor league team runs deep, and Izzie’s digging into the players’ pasts draws resentment from fans, police, and management alike. When the team’s PR person is targeted after meeting with her, the threats become all too real. The closer Izzie gets to uncovering the truth, on and off the field, the higher the stakes, and the more dangerous the game becomes.
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Review of The Itch of Greed by Christa Nardi
Izzie Di Sante doesn’t know the first thing about baseball. She’s a journalist and restaurant owner. But when Randy Kampton, star pitcher for the Rosedale Thorny Bats, pitches his final inning in life, the police are quick to pin the crime on teammate and competitor for the role of starting pitcher, Cole Rigley. And when Cole’s brother Phil reaches out to Izzie and her boyfriend Henry, soon to be a private investigator, for help clearing Cole’s name, Izzie quickly gets acquainted with the game.
I really liked this book! Izzie is an excellent protagonist. She’s practical and level-headed, and she approaches her search for Randy’s killer with a logical eye. She and Henry work well together, and I like the fact that, while they are romantically involved, they aren’t joined at the hip constantly.
I also enjoyed the relationship Izzie had with Chloe, her sister and co-owner of the family restaurant. Izzie seems to be the more grounded of the two, and Chloe’s adventurous streak definitely extends to the recipes she tries. Her experiment with the shrimp diavolo had me laughing because I just knew it wouldn’t end well.
But Nardi keeps the main focus on the mystery, and she does it well. Izzie kicks a few hornets’ nests when she starts investigating. Randy Kampton may have been a popular player, but he wasn’t a very nice guy, and the fact that he swiped Cole Rigley’s girlfriend appears to give Cole a pretty strong motive for taking Randy off the field. The more she searches, though, the more Izzie realizes that one, there are several people who also had compelling motives, and two, she’s making a lot of people unhappy with her sleuthing.
One thing that really surprised me was how far some of the police officers were willing to go to dissuade Izzie from pursuing the matter any further. Some of the things they did seemed like actions that would run afoul of the law. I know, there are dirty cops, but I don’t think any of these guys were dirty. But if I were Izzie, I would have had a hard time later trusting that any of them had my back.
All in all, Christa Nardi gives us an engaging mystery that’s fast-paced and twisty enough to keep you guessing, with well-written characters that you want to get to know. I hope to read more of this series, and I recommend it for anyone who loves mysteries!
About Christa Nardi
Christa Nardi is an accomplished author of cozy mysteries with an edge – still no graphic violence or sex or profanity, but touching on social issues. Christa’s background is in higher education and psychology, much as her protagonists, Sheridan Hendley in the Cold Creek and Sheridan Hendley mystery, along with Stacie Maroni in the Stacie Maroni mystery series. She has always loved mysteries – reading them, writing them, and solving them. She reviews books on her blog, predominantly cozy mysteries.
Christa is a member of Sisters in Crime and can be found on occasion at Bouchercon, Killer Nashville, or Malice Domestic. She writes four series: Cold Creek Cozy Mysteries, Sheridan Hendley Mysteries, Stacie Maroni Mysteries, and the Izzie Di Sante Mysteries. Christa also collaborates with Cassidy Salem in writing the Hannah and Tamar Mysteries, featuring teen sleuth sisters.
When not writing or reading, Christa and her husband enjoy travel, their three grandchildren, and their dogs. Christa supports dog rescue and local shelters.
Learn more about Christa Nordi and her stories at: https://christanardibooks.com
