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Reviews
Signora Volpe: Truffles & Treachery (2022)
No scattershot storytelling - pleasure in the details
The Umbria fest in the summer is about the much coveted and very expensive truffles which Sylvia comes to appreciate as she tracks down Mimi the missing pig known for her skill at digging up the best woodland truffles in Panicale, providing some comic relief against the more serious murder of Mario Rizzo in Rome laying bare love and betrayal. Woven in-between the two mysteries are clues into the main characters' back stories - nothing half-baked just not fully unveiled, thus leaving more questions about Giovanni Riva before Perugia, Isabel's anger and her version of their father, his knife and what happened to him? What events will Dame Felicity manipulate to lure her top agent back into the MI6 fold? The series' premise (indeed fabulous) is centered on how Sylvia's choices - not only those made in the present but in her past as well - spiral back around...but, for now, we are left with only a mere hint of the more complex mystery yet to be uncovered by Signora Volpe.
Signora Volpe: Secrets & Sacrifices (2022)
A hallmark of the whodunnit genre and tradition - done with class.
Secrets & Sacrifices is the best of the three Signora Volpe episodes in this first collection - just under 90minutes, each mystery is different while the lynchpin is former MI6 spy Sylvia Fox adjusting to Umbrian village life and family. This one focuses on the Comune di Panicale's history through the stories of two local women. The Italian cast is wonderfully authentic throughout (no quirky caricatures). The writers have a sophisticated sense of humor - loads of details given in an easy-to-miss casual way, the relationships are refreshingly understated and surprisingly layered. When the dialogue is not stating it, the music speaks volumes. In all three episodes, the cinematography and the music score meld making Umbria one of the central characters. Brava!
Signora Volpe (2022)
While a hallmark - but not for that channel
Don't be mislead by other reviews using "Hallmark" as an easy label or an accurate descriptor of this series' style for by the third and final episode disclosures are made which will disqualify Signora Volpe from being shown on that family entertainment channel, with all due respect to fans of the Hallmark Channel (we have a member of our family who is a loyal one).
Signora Volpe's excellent premiere mystery collection set-ups well the future sub-plots that will unfold alongside solving new diverse mysteries and promising international intrigues as former MI6 spy Sylvia Fox has friends from all over the world and enemies too - looking forward to the next release!