Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander

Historical Mystery

What Goodreads says:

"Years ago, Emily's childhood nemesis, Emma Callum, scandalized polite society when she eloped to Venice with an Italian count. But now her father-in-law lies murdered, and her husband has vanished. There's no one Emma can turn to for help but Emily, who leaves at once with her husband, the dashing Colin Hargreaves, for Venice. There, her investigations take her from opulent palazzi to slums, libraries, and bordellos. Emily soon realizes that to solve the present day crime, she must first unravel a centuries old puzzle. But the past does not give up its secrets easily, especially when these revelations might threaten the interests of some very powerful people."

Death in the Floating City continues to showcase the writing talent of Tasha Alexander.

The Plot:  Look for multiple red herrings as the story progresses.  There are two stories in the book: one in the present and one in the past.  They are related and are the reason for the murder. 

The Characters:  Emily has center stage in this story.  Colin is there but often in an off stage role.  Emma, the old friend who ask for help is not seen very often.  The story is sprinkled with interesting characters from now and from the past.  As usual in the Lady Emily stories characters are introduced and developed in a way that adds to the mystery.  Venice with its history and location is an important character in the book.

The Writing:  Very well written.  The story moves along at a nice pace and the surprises are there to move everything along. 

The Setting:  Venice is a great city for a mystery.  As you follow Emily you get a very good idea of the layout, the history and the character of Venice.  I had a very good feel for the location and how it was important to the story.

The Back Story:  This is book seven in the series.  Only Emily and Colin were characters from the previous books.  That made it easy to get into the story.  This is an easy book to read as a stand-alone as the history in previous books is not a big factor in Death in the Floating City.

I found Death in the Floating City to be a great addition to the Lady Emily series.  If you are already a fan of the series you will enjoy the story and if this is your first book in the series you will want to find the previous six.

Minotaur Books published Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander in 2012.

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander

Mystery

In Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander I got to visit with another old friend.  Lady Emily is in Normandy at her mother-in law’s recovering from her near brush with death in Constantinople.  Her husband Colin Hargreaves hopes that the setting will help her recover from the loss of their unborn child.   While out riding and trying to find the calm she needs Lady Emily comes on the body of a young woman murdered in the same way that victims of Jack the Ripper were killed.  Emily is determined to find the killer and bring him to justice.  After almost losing Emily Colin just wants to keep her safe and her involvement in this mystery leads to conflict between the two.   There is added tension because Colin’s Mother does not hide the fact that she does not like Emily. 

Dangerous to Know has all of the elements needed for a good mystery story.  There are several suspects, a suspected ghost, and some repeat character that help move the story forward.  Dangerous to Know can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading the series in order.

Minotaur Books published Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander in 2010.

I checked Dangerous to Know out from the Rogers, AR Public Library.

A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander

Mystery

A Fatal Waltz is the third book in the Lady Emily mystery series. The series is set in the late 19th century and the politics of the era are skillfully woven into the books.

Everything starts when Lady Emily is the guest of Lord Fortescue, an influential political figure with many powerful enemies. He objects very strongly to Colin and Emily getting married and is working hard at preventing the wedding. While Colin and Emily are there Lord Fortescue is murdered and Robert, the husband of Emily’s friend Ivy, is arrested and charged with the murder.

Robert asks Emily to help clear him of the charges. Emily must travel to Vienna in search of answers. There she becomes involved in the internal politics of the day meeting men who are both dangerous and violent. When Emily’s life is put in danger she has to flee back to England without finding the answers she needs to help Robert. While the murder does have ties to Vienna on returning to England Emily finds the answer in an unexpected place.

In addition, there are some interesting side stories going on. Emily’s butler Davis is still courting long distance, Emily has to deal with a past love of Colin’s, and Jeremy is lovelorn. All the side plots add richness to the story.

A Fatal Waltz has wonderful character development, an intense plot, good pacing, and an intriguing mystery. I continue to enjoy the series and am looking forward to reading the next book Tears of Pearl.

William Morrow published A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander in 2008.

I checked A Fatal Waltz out at the Rogers Public Library.