After over a decade away, widowed mother of two Minnie Harper has left sunny Greece and returned to her native England at the turn of the 20th century—just as a cloud of suspicion falls over her younger sister in this cozy historical mystery for fans of Jessica Fellowes, Tasha Alexander, Deanna Raybourn, Rhys Bowen, and the PBS series The Durrells in Corfu.
The world is changing at the dawn of the 20th century, but respectable English families still dread a public scandal. So Minnie agrees to accompany her reckless sister, Delia, for a night on the town with her Bohemian friends. The evening involves a raucous house party, a visit to a fortune-teller, and an encounter with a flirtatious baron, but none of that unsettles Minnie more than running into Stephen Dorian, her former employer in Corfu, who stirs in her a mix of resentment and attraction.
Soon after, Delia discovers the body of her rumored beau in his own home, and Minnie insists on playing by the rules and informing the police. After all, fleeing the scene could suggest Delia is guilty of more than an improper late-night rendezvous . . .
When the sisters return to the townhouse, their parents, dreading the threat of gossip, insist that Minnie help clear Delia’s name. Her discreet investigation will take her back into Delia’s decadent circle and have her crossing paths again with the baron—a collector of antiques—and the infuriating Stephen Dorian. But her new social life is soon overshadowed by dangerous intrigue that leads her to question even her own past . . .
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