These Violent Delights

Rosaline, the delightfully untraditional eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet (yes, that Romeo and Juliet) has at last found a true love of her own—her new husband Cal, aka Prince Escalus of Verona. But in a city known for celebrating passion, a villain is intent on turning happiness into tragedy . . .

Verona’s Festival of Love is not for the cynical of heart. Thanks to my legendary parents, Romeo and Juliet, it’s become a weeklong celebration complete with pageantry, public PDA, and multiple reenactments of their iconic balcony scene. I admit that once I would have scoffed at such gooey romance. But since my recent marriage to Cal, I’ve begun to see the light (that through yonder window breaks).

So much so that I agree to step in as a last-minute replacement for Mamma in one of the

performances, only to have my scene cut short when a paid assassin attempts to throw me off the balcony onto the stones below. Everyone’s a critic. Like my famed parents, I'm not easy to kill, and I fight back and save myself from an ironic—and unwanted—death. The question now is: who was the real target? Me, Mamma, or someone else entirely?

As one “Juliet” after another meets an unfortunate accident, the festival of love threatens to dissolve into a rampage of fear. All the world may be a stage, but Cal and I must solve this murderous mystery with haste, before one of us faces the final curtain . . .