The Benevento Secret: In a quiet steel town, the most dangerous secret isn’t forged in the mills—it’s baked in a pan (The Bethlehem Mystery Series)($9.99Value)

Description

In the quiet, working-class neighborhoods of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Angelina Vitale runs a modest takeout pizzeria out of her basement. Her rectangular pies—plain or with extra cheese—have become the stuff of legend, but few know that the recipe traces back generations to a hill town in Benevento, Italy. Passed from mother to daughter, never written down, the dough isn’t just food—it’s memory . When a slick corporate food venture, Veritas, sets its sights on commercializing Angelina’s pizza, they offer her money, accolades, even legacy. But she refuses. And when she refuses, they escalate—from surveillance to sabotage, to fire and fear. Enter Vince DeLucca , a weary private investigator and Korean War vet with a bad leg and a buried past. Tied to the Vitale family by old promises and quiet guilt, Vince becomes Angelina’s shadow and shield. Together, they fight back—not with guns or lawyers, but with flour, fire, and truth. As Veritas prepares its grand launch, Angelina’s circle of allies—an aging luncheonette owner, a streetwise altar boy, a skeptical priest—help her stage a quiet counterstrike. But the real war isn’t just over pizza. It’s over who gets to tell the story of culture, survival, and flavor in America. Tense, intimate, and richly atmospheric, The Benevento Secret is a mystery of the senses—where the recipe is only part of the inheritance, and the real secret lies in the hands that fold the dough.