A death on Corfu

Period romance, intrigue, and murder on the beautiful island of Corfu are the setup for a new series. The year 1898 finds widowed Minnie Harper and her two children, Cleo and Tommy, living in a semi-decrepit villa in Corfu. Minnie's husband, Oliver, had retired early from the British Foreign Service in order to raise the children in a quiet spot. Only some of the extensive work needed by the house had been completed when Oliver died four years earlier, and the money he left is dwindling. A villa overlooking Minnie's has just been rented to famous mystery author Stephen Dorian, sending the English colony all atwitter. Cleo pushes her mother into accepting Florence Belvedere's invitation to an evening soiree to welcome Dorian. Minnie doesn't readily take to Dorian, but when he offers her a job typing his current book manuscript, she can't turn down the good salary. Despite the scandal surrounding his divorce and his often grouchy persona, Minnie grows more attracted to him. But she's disturbed by an awkward conversation she has with Daphne, Florence's strange new maid, and another discussion in which Florence urges her to override Oliver's wishes and take Cleo to England for school. When Minnie stumbles over Daphne's body, Dorian comes to her rescue, which draws the pair closer. The police are happy to pin the murder on a vagrant, but Minnie and Dorian are not. The sleuthing duo make a rather scandalous unchaperoned trip to the nearby island where Daphne lived to see if they can uncover the truth. A mystery steeped in Greek atmosphere, a budding love story, and answers that lie in the past. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.