Ever since I picked up 'Dead and Gondola', I couldn't put it down—partly because of its intriguing protagonist, Ellie Christie. She's not your typical amateur sleuth; she runs a bookstore in a small mountain town, which already gives her this cozy yet sharp vibe. The way she pieces together clues feels organic, like she’s just naturally observant rather than forcing herself into the role. Her love for books often mirrors the mystery itself, with literary references sprinkled in.
What really stands out is how relatable she is. She’s not some hypercompetent genius but someone who stumbles, doubts, and grows. The supporting cast—her sister, the quirky townsfolk—add layers to her character. By the end, I felt like I’d made a friend, not just read about one. Definitely a protagonist who lingers in your mind.
Reading 'Dead and Gondola' felt like curling up with a warm drink while unraveling a puzzle, thanks to Ellie Christie. She’s got this quiet determination—not flashy, but steadfast. The way her backstory unfolds subtly through the mystery is brilliant; you learn about her past regrets and hopes without heavy-handed exposition. Her dynamic with her sister adds warmth, and the bookish details (like her organizing clues like bookstore inventory) are pure charm. More than just a sleuth, she feels like someone you’d want to share a coffee—and theories—with.
Ellie Christie stole the show for me in 'Dead and Gondola'. A bookstore owner turned sleuth, she’s witty without being snarky, clever but not infallible. The murder mystery’s fun, but her personal journey—balancing family, business, and curiosity—is what hooked me. Plus, her literary quips? Gold.
Ellie Christie’s the heart of 'Dead and Gondola', and honestly? She’s a breath of fresh air. Imagine someone who’s equal parts bookworm and accidental detective, with a dry sense of humor that sneaks up on you. The story leans into her flaws—like her tendency to overthink—but that’s what makes her solving the gondola murder feel earned. The setting’s almost a character too, with the snowy peaks and tight-knit community shaping her choices. If you love protagonists who feel real, Ellie’s your match.
2026-03-18 08:12:26
9
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
GIOVANNI: A FORBIDDEN MAFIA ROMANCE
Naomi Oh
10
5.8K
She was the daughter of a monster.
He was the man who put a bullet in her father’s skull.
Now, they're both trapped in a game of obsession, betrayal, and blood.
When Mirabella Belluci escapes her brutal Mafia past in Chicago, she doesn't expect to be hunted by the man who freed her. Giovanni Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and a sworn enemy of her family and is meant to watch her from the shadows. Instead, he watches too closely... and wants too much.
But in a world where love is weakness and loyalty is lethal, desire comes at a cost. And the closer they draw to each other, the deeper they sink into a war that could destroy them both.
"Obsession is just another kind of loyalty.”
After witnessing the death of her parents at the age of six, the abduction of her sister and surviving a hit-and-run accident during her freshman year, Alyssa Brawns ends up using a walking cane for her entire life. She tries to find meaning in her present but gets involved in something she shouldn't have and now, she is one ticket away from gracing the world with her funeral.
Someone is out to kill her and her sole suspect is the leader of one of the biggest mafia organizations in the state who has no plans of leaving her alone.
However, everything she believes in goes down the drain when truth resurfaces, but that's not the only thing which does.
Warning: This book is a dark romance that contains a lot of violence, use of language, gory details, steamy/sexual scenes and sexual tension.
Two years ago, I was the Donna of the Costa family.
When I was on my way to attend the family meeting, I was killed by my husband's childhood sweetheart, Isabella Rossi.
She shattered my limbs and smashed my belly before throwing me into an abandoned mine pit.
It was such a shame that I was pregnant with the heir Matteo Costa had been waiting for the past five years when I died.
Not only did Isabella frame me for working with the enemy forces, but she also broke her own legs and claimed that she got hurt from stopping me.
Matteo publicly announced that he decided to sever all ties with me. He also placed a bounty on my head.
Just like that, I fell from my position as the Costa family's Donna to a traitor who was wanted by all.
Two years later, the mine pit collapsed on itself. That was when the workers dug out my rotten corpse.
Alessandro Mascherano is a strong, serious and very powerful man, he is the Boss of the Italian mafia, he is used to having everything he wants on a silver platter, including women, who are never indifferent to his beauty and attractiveness.
Georgia Alcott is the opposite of Alessandro, she had a difficult life, she has grown up without her parents and has had to make her way as a waitress in a restaurant that she doesn't even like, but in which she stays to help her sick grandmother.
The only thing Alessandro and Georgia have in common is their pride, and that's why, when their paths cross and they are forced to spend time together, each of their lives will become a hell, all because Alessandro becomes obsessed with that woman and Georgia is not willing to be just another one on Alessandro's long list of women.
[Warning: Mature content]
"You're not Irina anymore," he whispered,
" You're Isabella... my dead sister."
When twenty-one-year-old Irina Wilson wakes up in the mansion of Lorenzo De Luca, the ruthless Don of Naples. She's given two choices, go to prison for a murder she didn't commit, or pretend to be his dead sister Isabella.
Blackmailed into living a lie, Irina is forced to step into Isabella's world, a world of luxury, danger, and secrets she dosen't understand. But everything changes the moment a little boy calls her Mama.
Now trapped between a child who believes she's his mother and a man who dosen't only want her but her body too, Irina begins to question who she really is. When Isabella's husband returns demanding his wife back, the truth she's been running from unravels.
What Irina dosen't know is that she is not pretending to be Isabella, she is Isabella. A woman who survived death, lost her memory and fell in love with the man who destroyed her life.
As lies crumbles, heart collides and blood debt becomes due, only one truth remains, love can be born even in the hands of the man who killed you.
It had been six years since Vincent Castellano was declared dead in that “car crash”, and I was still alone.
My friends kept nagging me to move on. Even in my dreams, Vincent was there, begging me to stop living in the past.
So I finally caved and agreed to a blind date with Leo Christopher, the guy who’d been chasing me for years. I’d decided I’d make a clean break with Vincent once and for all on the Day of the Dead.
But the second I stepped out of the cemetery, a billboard for a luxury brownstone in Brooklyn Heights caught my eye. It was the exact place Vincent had been obsessed with back when I thought he was alive.
Before I even knew what I was doing, I was heading straight for it.
What I saw that day is seared into my brain for the rest of my life.
There, on the bench outside the house, sat Vincent. The man was laid to rest in the Castellano family crypt. And he had his arm around another woman.
That woman? Mia Rossi. The card dealer he’d been screwing behind my back six years prior. The same one I’d caught him red-handed with, the one I’d made him fire from the family casino.