The Dark Heart of Florence: A Lady Emily Mystery

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. Agent: Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Assoc. (Mar.)