Cabaret - by Lily Prior (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

struggling mortician in working-class Rome, Freda only married her repulsive ventriloquist husband, Alberto, because it was prophesied that she'd do so. Now that he's vanished mysteriously along with his equally abhorrent dummy (who Freda suspects is actually a midget), she'd like them both to stay missing -- though she's devastated by the simultaneous disappearance of her soul mate, Pierino, her beloved talking parrot. While the police investigate this series of possible crimes, Freda will continue embalming by day, unleashing her caged passions at night in a seedy cabaret (until a tragic fire leaves the proprietor with a tuba stuck on his head), trying to make do with a talking hamster in lieu of dear Pierino . . . and recalling the vagaries of life that led her to this unfortunate juncture.

Review Quotes

"Prior is a great joke teller. She understands pacing, characters, and the power of a perfectly delivered punch line, which makes Nectar one of the more delightful reads of the summer." - Entertainment Weekly
"[An] irresistibly funny, subtly wise, and zestfully romantic fairy tale. . . . Prior's lustful farce is a merry romp through love's arduous maze." - Booklist on Ardor
"[A] succulent saga... La Cucina could well satisfy the hungriest of appetites." - People