A grown man living in his mother's basement, disgraced detective Arthur Beautyman knows his life has fallen off a cliff. But that doesn't mean he has to be happy about his mother's solution to his woes: volunteering him to solve a case for her favorite bridge partner.

The body of a young man who disappeared three years before is discovered drowned in an icy Minnesota late on the day of his father's restaurant grand opening. But he's only been dead for three days. Where has he been all this time? And what is the connection between his death and the new restaurant?

To get his mother off his back, Beautyman agrees to take the case. That's when he discovers she wants to be his partner on the case as well ...

With a recipe of unique cast of characters and terribly dysfunctional families, The Marinara Murders seamlessly blends comedy and mystery into one very enjoyable read.