Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband Colin tour the antique city under excavation, Pompeii, at the turn of the twentieth century. Mrs Ivy Brandon, a good friend, has invited them to join her in Italy. No fictional British house party would be complete without a few titled people; we meet the Duke of Bainbridge who is less interested in archaeological digs than in flirting with every attractive single lady he meets. However, murder stalks the ruins IN THE SHADOW OF VESUVIUS.

I was delighted to see that as well as the upper crust of the late Victorian era, we go back in time to visit Pompeii in 97 AD and experience the life of a Greek slave girl among the Romans. Kassandra, with an educated Greek father who is a scribe, loves reading, but having been raised in the Roman culture she feels herself to be just as Roman as anyone. She can even compose some poetry, which catches the attention of a visiting young man… though he’s making a marriage offer for Kassandra’s mistress, Lepida, and shouldn’t be looking at slave girls.

Back in more modern times, Lady Emily and her friends stumble upon the concealed body of an American man who is thought to have been there for a month. He’s identified as a New York newspaper columnist. The local police sigh that the reporter had crossed the local Mafia, who rule nearby Naples. What can one do? But Lady Emily would like to see justice brought to the killers. Then the danger starts to stalk their party.

This often witty and highly entertaining mystery is kept in the best possible taste, even when describing some scandalous frescoes. Our heroine is happily married to a gentleman who doesn’t mind her spouting off about women’s equality and even supports her at times. How thoroughly modern. I notice that although this is the fourteenth book in the Lady Emily series, moving the action to Italy keeps the cast and their backstories to a minimum, so a new reader will have no problem jumping into the fun. Several locations for archaeology are discussed, including Egypt, and quite correctly some of the gentlemen quote the Classics at every opportunity, having had to memorise them at public school. At the end, the author Tasha Alexander provides a note separating fact from fiction and citing her research. The admirable adventure IN THE SHADOW OF VESUVIUS should be enjoyed by the young and old, a marvellous period mystery indeed. I will definitely be looking out for more of Lady Emily’s exploits.