Recent Reads {Death in the Floating City}

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander - I have read - and loved! - all the previous Lady Emily Mystery series, and had been eagerly awaiting the next installment.  This has been out for a couple of months and I'd missed it!  Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, are called upon to assist an old acquaintance of Emily's in the city of Venice.  Emma and Emily were not ever close friends, but when Emma's father-in-law is found murdered and her husband disappears, she calls Emily and Colin to lead the investigation.  A fifteenth-century ring and page of manuscript are found on the body, which are clues to a centuries-old love affair gone horribly wrong and to the motive behind the murder.  Emily makes a new friend, Donata, who is by her side through much of the adventure, as they try to piece together story of an ancient feud and lovers kept apart by it, convinced that these secrets from the past will help them uncover the murderer.  

As usual, the very likable and intrepid Lady Emily narrates the story, but interspersed is the account of the Renaissance period lovers.  The ancient love story is a tragedy somewhat reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.  The identity of the murderer turned out to be a surprise (to me, anyway!), and I couldn't help but be a little skeptical of some of the happy-ever-after aspects of the resolutions at the end of the book.  However, Alexander delivers another delightful story peopled with fascinating characters, and with an intriguing possibility for yet another follow-up.

By the same author: A Crimson Warning, Dangerous to Know, Tears of Pearl, A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, And Only to Deceive