A Terrible Beauty: A Lady Emily Mystery

Bestseller Alexander’s agreeable 11th Lady Emily mystery (after 2015’s The Adventuress) finds Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband, Colin, looking forward to a trip to Greece with friends. But their pleasant excursion becomes a nightmare when Emily’s first husband, long-believed-dead, shows up at the door of their villa on the island of Santorini. Is he really Lord Philip Ashton, who supposedly died so long ago in Africa? A decade changes a man, but he can relate details of their life together that only Ashton would know. When a ruthless dealer in black market antiquities sends an assassin to Santorini to retrieve a priceless relic he believes is in Philip’s possession, Emily is suddenly in danger of losing all she holds dear. The story falters at the unlikely way Emily manages to unravel Philip’s secret. Still, Emily is an appealing protagonist and a believable Victorian woman. Some interesting twists, a vivid setting, and engaging characters fill out a tale sure to please historical mystery lovers. Agent: Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates. (Oct.)