Fool’s Gold: A Liberty Lane Mystery

Set in 1841, Peacock’s winning eighth Liberty Lane mystery (after 2015’s Friends in High Places) finds the forthright, intelligent, and remarkably ladylike private investigator honeymooning with her husband, Robert Carmichael, on a yacht off the Greek island of Cephalonia, where Lord Byron’s brief stay is still bright in the islanders’ memories. The couple is invited to the villa of a mysterious Englishman, Matthew Vickery, whose household includes breathtakingly handsome 17-year-old Georgios, who is said to be Lord Byron’s illegitimate son. The undercurrents of sexual tension and strife are not lost on Liberty. The next morning a guest at the house is discovered missing and is presumed to have drowned. Was it an accident, suicide, or something even more sinister? The Carmichaels return to London, followed shortly by Vickery and Georgios (now called George). Vickery approaches Liberty to look into some threatening notes that he has received. This sets the intricate plot in full, glorious motion. Fans of Victorian historicals will be enthralled. (May)