In the latest installment of Tasha Alexander's New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily must solve a string of high stakes "accidents" while trapped in a lavish villa in the Bavarian Alps.
In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection—as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness' boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.
Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on. But while King Ludwig is content to live out a fantasy where their responsibilities don't matter and the outside world doesn't affect them, Niels knows that their bliss cannot last forever...
Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal "mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It's up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 24, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781250872371
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781250872371
- File size: 6049 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2024
The beautiful Bavarian Alps provide the setting for two interlinked tales. In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily Hargreaves and her clever husband, Colin, are staying with Baroness Ursula von D�chtel in the modern villa built to show off her eclectic art collection. The most unpleasant of Ursula's equally eclectic guests is her son-in-law, Kaspar Allerspach, a handsome boor who seems cool toward his wife, Sigrid. Among the topics discussed by the guests is the death of Ludwig the Second, aka Mad King Ludwig, who either died by suicide or was murdered 20 years earlier. Alternating chapters set in 1868 present Ludwig's relationship with Niels von Sch�n, son of a baron who disapproves of his lifestyle, and provide clues to solving a murder that won't take place until 1906. After Kaspar narrowly escapes death in a skiing accident, it's clear that someone has it in for him. Then, on a visit to Ludwig's Castle Neuschwanstein, someone shoots at Kaspar. It seems inescapable that the shooter is one of Ursula's guests. Lady Emily questions everyone but comes away with nothing more than suspicions. Although Kaspar seems to be the one in danger, it's Sigrid who's shot dead while they're out on a sleigh ride. Because she'd been supported financially by Ursula, her death leaves her husband distinctly worse off. But more intrigue swirls around the tangled relations among the diverse group of guests, including a beautiful narcissist who's having an affair with Kaspar. Once a snowstorm cuts them off from help, it's up to Emily to unmask a killer. A mystery that keeps you guessing while you enjoy the historical retrospective on the Mad King.COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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