It's finally here, the new adventure of Flora Flowerdew!!! I've had to leave her hanging for a year or so while I finished up some other projects, but you can look for more tales of her travels and encounters with ghosts (helpful and not so much) in the future. I absolutely loved writing this story, Flora Flowerdew and the Peril in the Piazza, as it's set in one of my very favorite places--Venice.
A witty, atmospheric Victorian cozy mystery featuring an intrepid lady sleuth, her devoted duke, and a psychic Pomeranian, as a patriarch's murder pulls them into the candlelit secrets—and ghosts—of Venice.
When the formidable patriarch of the Barbaro family is found murdered in his palazzo, suspicion settles on his grown children, each nursing a grievance hidden beneath the family's polished façade. But there's another suspect Flora Flowerdew can't dismiss: Rose, her old friend and the dead man's beautiful young second wife, who claims innocence yet is plainly hiding something.
Flora doesn't investigate alone. Benedict, the Duke of Everton, is never far—his growing place in her heart nearly as unsettling as the case—nor is Chou Chou, her uncannily psychic Pomeranian, who seems to know far more about the sinister palazzo than any dog should.
As they follow the trail through shadowed canals and the misty labyrinth of Venice, they unearth a darker history the Barbaros have buried deep—one someone, or something, is determined to drag into the light. Then the ghosts begin to appear.
Perfect for readers who love:
– Atmospheric Victorian cozy mysteries
– A lady sleuth, her duke, and a psychic Pomeranian
– Candlelit Venice, shadowed canals, and buried secrets
– A haunted palazzo and a family full of suspects
And here's a peek into Flora's life from the lady herself!
Today, the “Lady’s Companion Magazine” is honored to visit the famous spirit medium Miss Flora Flowerdew as she travels the world assisting others in making contact with their dearly departed! She has comforting messages to bring to so many, we are so happy she took a few moments to meet with our Intrepid Interviewer on her visit to Venice...
Interviewer: Miss Flowerdew, thank you ever so much for agreeing to speak with us. I understand Venice has made quite an impression on you. Is this your first visit?
Flora: It is, and I confess I had imagined it rather differently. I expected beauty, certainly, and romance, and perhaps a little melancholy, a diverting stop on my journey home to London. But Venice is a city that enchants. Every turn reveals another palace, another bridge, another glimpse of water glittering in the sunlight. It is almost impossible not to fall in love with it.
Interviewer: Almost impossible? Is there something about Venice you find less enchanting?
Flora, laughing: Its secrets, perhaps. I have discovered that beautiful old buildings can conceal some very ugly things. And the families who inhabit them are not always quite as gracious as their surroundings might suggest.
Interviewer: I believe you are referring to the rather unfortunate business at the ancient Ca’ Barbaro?
Flora: I would rather not discuss the particulars of the case just yet. A gentleman has died, and his family are in mourning. Though I confess that the more I learn about his death, the less convinced I am that mourning is the only emotion being experienced beneath that roof.
Interviewer: You do seem to have a remarkable knack for finding yourself in the middle of mysteries. Do you consider yourself a Lady Detective?
Flora: Goodness, no! My own work with seances and bringing comfort to the bereaved takes up all my time. I am simply curious. Perhaps excessively so. I have always found it difficult to leave a question unanswered, particularly when someone is being unjustly accused. I suppose I cannot help myself. If something doesn't make sense, I must keep turning it over until it does.
Interviewer: And does that curiosity ever get you into trouble?
Flora: More often than I care to admit. I have been told that I ask too many questions, that I ought to mind my own business, and that a lady should not go wandering about strange houses after dark. All perfectly reasonable advice, I daresay. Unfortunately, I have never been particularly good at following it.
Interviewer: There are rumours that you possess a rather unusual gift. Would you care to tell us about it?
Flora, pausing: I see things that other people do not. Spirits who have not entirely left this world behind. I know how extraordinary that must sound. I have sometimes wished it were not so myself. But I have come to understand that the dead have their own stories to tell, and sometimes they need someone willing to listen.
Interviewer: Have you encountered any such spirits in Venice?
Flora: Venice is full of ghosts, I think. Not all of them are visible. There are ghosts in the portraits that hang in the palazzi, in the letters hidden away in old writing desks, and in the memories that families would rather forget. And yes, I have encountered one or two of the more conventional variety.
Interviewer: Does it frighten you?
Flora: Sometimes. I would be foolish to pretend otherwise. But I have discovered that the dead are not necessarily more frightening than the living.
Interviewer: A rather chilling observation! And what of romance? Venice is surely the most romantic city in the world. Has it lived up to its reputation?
Flora: It is certainly a city made for lovers. The moonlight on the canals, the music drifting from an open window, the sound of a gondolier singing somewhere in the darkness... One could hardly invent a more romantic setting.
Interviewer: I take it there is someone in particular with whom you would like to share these pleasures?
Flora, with a teasing smile: You are very determined, aren't you? I shall say only that Venice has a way of making one feel things one might otherwise have preferred to keep safely hidden.
Interviewer: And is this gentleman aware of your feelings?
Flora: I really couldn't say. Men can be remarkably difficult to understand, particularly when they choose to say nothing at all. Sometimes I think silence is their preferred language.
Interviewer: Do you believe in happy endings, Miss Flowerdew?
Flora: I believe in hope. I think that is rather different. I should like to believe in happy endings.
Interviewer: Finally, what do you hope to discover before you leave Venice?
Flora: The truth, naturally. I should like to know who killed Signor Barbaro, and why his children seem so determined to conceal what happened. I should also like to discover what became of a certain missing letter, and why I have the uncomfortable feeling that someone has been following me through the streets.
Interviewer: Someone following you? Surely you don't mean—
Flora, rising to conclude the interview: I'm afraid I do. And if you'll excuse me, I think I should like to find out who it is.
Interviewer: Miss Flowerdew! One last question!
Flora: I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the next interview.
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