



The Dark Heart of Florence
A Lady Emily Mystery
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4.2 • 71 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In the next Lady Emily Mystery, The Dark Heart of Florence, critically acclaimed author Tasha Alexander transports readers to the legendary city of Florence, where Lady Emily and Colin must solve a murder with clues leading back to the time of the Medici.
In 1903, tensions between Britain and Germany are starting to loom over Europe, something that has not gone unnoticed by Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves. An agent of the Crown, Colin carries the weight of the Empire, but his focus is drawn to Italy by a series of burglaries at his daughter’s palazzo in Florence—burglaries that might have international ramifications. He and Emily travel to Tuscany where, soon after their arrival, a stranger is thrown to his death from the roof onto the marble palazzo floor.
Colin’s trusted colleague and fellow agent, Darius Benton-Smith, arrives to assist Colin, who insists their mission must remain top secret. Finding herself excluded from the investigation, Emily secretly launches her own clandestine inquiry into the murder, aided by her spirited and witty friend, Cécile. They soon discover that the palazzo may contain a hidden treasure dating back to the days of the Medici and the violent reign of the fanatic monk, Savonarola—days that resonate in the troubled early twentieth century, an uneasy time full of intrigue, duplicity, and warring ideologies.
Emily and Cécile race to untangle the cryptic clues leading them through the Renaissance city, but an unimagined danger follows closely behind. And when another violent death puts Emily directly in the path of a killer, there’s much more than treasure at stake…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Alexander's lively 15th Lady Emily mystery (after 2020's In the Shadow of Vesuvius) takes Emily and her intelligence agent husband, Colin Hargreaves, in 1903 to Florence, Italy, to investigate a break-in at the Palazzo di Vieri, the home of Colin's daughter, along with Emily's friend Cécile du Lac, an elegant Parisian with a passion for champagne and bohemian sensibilities. Meanwhile, the body of an informant associated with Darius Benton-Stone, Colin's fellow agent, has been discovered in the palazzo's courtyard. While Colin and Darius investigate, Emily and Cécile keep themselves busy visiting the sights and doing some digging of their own into the dead man's background. They also discover that the Palazzo di Vieri is believed to contain a secret treasure. Could the man have been searching for it? Flashbacks to late 15th-century Florence ratchet up the tension and provide answers to the present-day goings-on. Alexander effortlessly slips an enormous amount of Florentine history into a narrative that offers a loving portrait of the city and just the right amount of dashing derring-do. This series remains as fresh as ever.
Customer Reviews
New Orleanian Fan
Always a pleasure..