A Fatal Overture

February 21, 2022
It’s January 1900 in Kalb’s fast, fun third Ella Shane mystery (after 2021’s A Fatal First Night), and New York City opera diva Ella is having a fencing lesson at her Washington Square townhouse when she receives a surprise visit from Flora Saint Aubyn, Countess of Blyth, accompanied by her equally noble sisters, Caledonia and Charlotte. Flora, the mother of Ella’s suitor, Gilbert Saint Aubyn, Duke of Leith, has traveled from Britain to assure Ella that she would be delighted to welcome Ella into the family. After a splendid tea, the visitors depart for their nearby hotel. Shortly afterward, Ella receives a message from Flora: “An unfortunately dead man has appeared in the bathtub in our suite. We have called the police, but please do come if you can.” The victim is Darren Eyckhouse, son of the owners of the hotel, who has been stabbed in the eye. Is Darren’s murder connected to recent attempts on Gilbert’s life? However, the real question is: will Ella accept Gil’s proposal of marriage? This will appeal more to romance readers than to mystery fans. Agent: Eric Myers, Myers Literary.

January 15, 2022
An Irish Jewish diva is more adept at solving crimes than ordering her own life. The year 1900 dawns with a surprise for trouser-role opera singer Ella Shane: a visit from the mother and aunts of her love, Gilbert Saint Aubyn, Duke of Leith. The aristocratic ladies have come to urge Shane to patch up her differences with Gil over her career through a marriage contract. Indeed, Ella is urged to marry Gil by many friends and relatives, including her cousin Tommy, a former champion boxer who shares a Greenwich Village house with her and manages the Ella Shane Opera Company. The visiting ladies move into Ella's house after they discover a man stabbed to death in their hotel suite. Ella's friend Hetty, a reporter, is working undercover at the hotel for a story she won't discuss in detail. But she does reveal that the dead man, son of the owner, was known to prey on women. Shane and Gil agree to an informal engagement. Despite their passion for each other, though, they still can't agree on how many tours Shane will be able to make. Gil has a bad feeling about his relatives and the dead man, and when Hetty claims to have killed him in self-defense, Ella resolves to discover the truth, unaware that she and Gil face danger from another source. The historical detail and the heroine's romance, brimming with tension, make up for the weak mystery.

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