In the Shadow of Vesuvius

Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries #14

by Tasha Alexander

In this new installment in Tasha Alexander's bestselling Victorian series, Lady Emily and her husband Colin uncover a mystery in the ancient city of Pompeii.

Some corpses lie undisturbed longer than others. But when Lady Emily discovers a body hidden in plain sight amongst the ruins of Pompeii, it still comes as quite a shock.

Eager to explore ancient sites and modern archaeological digs, Lady Emily jumps at the chance to accompany her dearest childhood friend Ivy Brandon on an excursion to Italy. Soon old friends are joined by new, including the American siblings Benjamin and Calliope Carter (he, a moody painter, and she, a freethinking archaeologist capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge's most devious flirtations). But when the two women, along with Emily's devoted husband Colin Hargreaves, uncover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Lady Emily leaves behind museum tours and villas to investigate.

But an artful murderer is nothing compared to the sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves family. As Colin warms to the girl, Emily must endure an endless stream of slights and snubs. Someone else has it out for Emily, too, someone who keeps sending her threats. Undaunted, Lady Emily's desire to unearth the truth takes her from Pompeii to Naples, to ancient times and back again. But how far below the surface can she dig before she risks burying herself along with the truth?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Audiobook, Italy

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2020

About the author

The daughter of two philosophy professors, I grew up surrounded by books. I was convinced from an early age that I was born in the wrong century and spent much of my childhood under the dining room table pretending it was a covered wagon. Even there, I was never without a book in hand and loved reading and history more than anything. I studied English Literature and Medieval History at the University of Notre Dame. Writing is a natural offshoot of reading, and my first novel, And Only to Deceive, was published in 2005. I'm the author of the long-running Lady Emily Series as well as the novel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. One of the best parts of being an author is seeing your books translated, and I'm currently in love with the Japanese editions of the Emily books.

I played nomad for a long time, living in Indiana, Amsterdam, London, Wyoming, Vermont, Connecticut, and Tennessee before settling down. My husband, the brilliant British novelist Andrew Grant (I may be biased but that doesn't mean I'm wrong) and I live in southeastern Wyoming. I still don't have a covered wagon, but a log house goes a long way toward fulfilling my pioneer fantasies. Andrew makes sure I get my English characters right, and I make sure his American ones sound American.

Reviews

[Nora Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of the delightful 14th installment of the Lady Emily mystery series. What I love about Alexander's books is the careful historical research that goes into them. Alexander always visits the sites that she writes about, and in this book, the author's powerful connection to the location shines through. As in many of her books, this one has a dual timeline, going back and forth between Emily's time, and the story of a slave girl who lived during Pompeii's heyday. One thing I really appreciate is that Alexander has a special sensitivity to the lives of girls and women-- the strictures that they face in their historical periods, and the way that smart women learned to live within those confines. The male-female dynamic is always one of the most fascinating parts of her books. I won't go into the mystery itself, but it was clever and there were enough plot twists that I didn't guess the ending. But to me, the most satisfying part of the whole book was the way that the two stories ended up dovetailing together. Not just a great mystery, but a fascinating look inside the world of Pompeii. Highly recommended.

[OLT · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 stars) This is, I believe, the fourteenth Lady Emily historical mystery. I was an initial fan when the series began some years ago, but I've lost interest in her and her friends and adventures. When this latest book was offered as an Amazon Vine selection, I decided to check in and see how she's doing.

Emily and her spy-for-the-Crown husband Colin and her upper-class friends spend a lot of time traveling the world. In this story, they have traveled to Pompeii, Italy, and are doing their usual touristy things, visiting the ruins, spouting random bits of knowledge of history and the classics, and, in general, being upper-crusty supercilious. And, as they are wandering around the ruins, they find a recently-deceased body in an ancient dining room there.

Naturally it falls to them to find out the body's identity and to solve the mystery. Why them? Well, because they are so clever and always far superior to local authorities in these cases. So they must discover who the deceased was, and then, of course, reconstruct his last days and whereabouts and who he associated with at that time. We meet a lot of characters, most involved in an archaeological dig, one the head of the dig and others his employees and associates.

In spite of mysterious messages and death threats to them, Emily and Colin interview and investigate all concerned. Eventually they will solve the puzzle, but not before some moments of high danger and peril, especially concerning our intrepid amateur sleuth Emily.

There will also be a bit of a personal drama, with the unexpected appearance on the scene of a young woman claiming to be Colin's daughter, born to his former lover and fellow spy Christine, with whom he had an affair pre-Emily. High drama here because the girl is a bit of a pain in the patootie, especially to Emily.

Neither the mystery nor the personal subplot interested me. I am now firmly convinced that I need to avoid all contact with Lady Emily et al. I find her to be pretentious, snobbish, boring and humorless. Her longtime friend Jeremy is a useless fribble of a duke, and her husband Colin lacks any personality.

These books mostly serve to allow author Alexander to let us all see what a world traveler she is, how much historical research she does, and how conversant with Greek and Roman classics she is. Is she as pretentious and humorless as Lady Emily?

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of her books. This was excellent! Set in Pompeii at the turn of the century, she had to disregard knowledge gleaned after that. So she did a lot of research. I liked the alternate story running alongside the main story. It kept me in suspense to see how the two stories would relate in the end.
I was not disappointed.
If you like history and especially Pompeii, this is a must read!

[Grandma Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to more in the series.

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series: Lady Emily #14
Publication Date: 1/7/2020
Number of Pages: 304
*** 3.5 Stars Rounded up to 4 ***

As with many of the stories in this long-running series, you get two stories for the price of one. The main story takes place in 1902 Pompei at an archaeological dig and the accompanying story revolves around a newly freed slave girl in AD 79 Pompei. For my part, I sort of liked the accompanying story better than the main story – mostly because you knew, as you read, what was going to happen to the characters. You wanted them to escape, but really knew they wouldn’t, so it was bittersweet.

Lady Emily and her best friend, Ivy, hadn’t been able to spend much time together because – well – life got in the way. Ivy has six children who keep her busy and Lady Emily and her husband, Colin have children and travel a good deal – mostly because of Colin’s work for the crown. Ivy, Emily, and Colin have decided to make a trek to the digs at Pompei. Colin didn’t want to go, but Ivy’s husband persuaded him to accompany the ladies.

Almost upon arrival, they discovered a dead body – encased in plaster in order to look like the other victims of Vesuvius. Colin and Lady Emily immediately take on the investigation to solve the murder because the local authorities would just let it go. They have lots of suspects with all of the archaeologists on the dig – many of whom are hiding secrets. Almost as soon as the investigation begins, the warnings start. The warnings are obscure and something that Lady Emily would recognize, but most others wouldn’t. Those warnings were meant to put them off the investigation but only made Lady Emily and crew more determined to find the killer. Tensions only increase when a second death occurs. Was it a murder or an accident? The investigation continues and many secrets are revealed, many suspects investigated and finally, the killer revealed in a most dramatic way.

Also, right at the beginning, we get a new and previously unknown addition to the Hargreaves family. Colin’s method of dealing with this new addition caused me to lose respect for him. There was no excuse for his allowing this new addition to treat Lady Emily as she did.

I have never had a great liking for Lady Emily – I’ve tried and just can’t get there. In my opinion, Lady Ivy would have made a much better heroine. Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, is also seeming a little caricaturish to me. Seems to me it is time he begins to grow up. One thing that sort of bothered me was that there was absolutely no mention of Lady Emily’s and Colin’s children – given the circumstances, you’d think they’d be discussed at some point.

The descriptions of the places and people in both stories made you feel as if you were right there in the scene. The mystery was a good one and the accompanying story was a lovely, but sad, tale.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shades of trouble on Pompeii's slopes!

The past casts many a shadow in the lee of Vesuvius. Colin is confronted by his past and Emily's confidence is frayed as murder spreads it's wings on a dig at Pompei.
Emily's friend Ivy asked Emily to accompany her to Pompeii. Ivy's husband, concerned about the two women traveling alone, with a clever sleight of hand, was able to inveigle King Edward VII to release Colin from his protection duties in order to join them.
In a reconstructed dining room at the Pompei dig, archaeologists have formed plaster casts of a group of the long perished inhabitants giving tourists a window into the terrors of those moments. When Ivy comments on the unusualness of one of the group of ancient figures having sideburns, it's but a moment before Colin pokes at the plaster with his penknife to discover that the body displayed is very much recent .
Alternating with the mystery Emily becomes involved in, we follow the path of a young Greek woman who along with her father is a slave to a wealthy family living in Pompeii prior to the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. She is a close friend to the daughter of the house and a poet.
Initially I felt the plot was lack luster. It seemed just so so. I was also annoyed by what I saw as a storyline interruption, switching from 1902 to A.D. 79. Later, as Emily battled through what was a major upheaval to hers and Colin's lives, I became very much involved in their plight and the poet's tale. As the two stories wove together, I was once again was struck by Alexander's ability to give us a solid murder mystery with something a little different.
I did not see the ending coming. A good thing!
I was also much struck by the epigraph Alexander opened the story with. So fitting when taken in context! Yet what does it say about attitudes to life?
"Of the many misfortunes that have occurred in this world, no others have given posterity such joy. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writing about Pompeii."

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 Stars. In this latest Lady Emily book I was very excited for the return of Emily’s best friend from childhood, Ivy Brandon. I thank the author for bringing back such a beloved character. The interactions between Ivy and Emily were actually the best part of the book. The mystery involves a dead reporter encased to look like one of the ancient dead of Pompeii. I thought it would get more interesting from there but instead it was boring to an Olympic degree. Their was no investigation, just Colin and Emily going all over Pompeii talking to people, and then all of a sudden Emily is talking to the murderer. End of mystery. We are also introduced to a new character that I assume will be in future books. This character is whiny, annoying, and unnecessary. I don’t know why the author thought this should be included in the series. I hope that the author can make them more likable in future books. I was also disappointed by the story that takes place in the past. It was also very boring, choppy, and lacking in substance. I look forward to the next book where I hope Emily, Colin and company are back to their normal selves.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you know what a Deux Ex Machina is?
From the Oxford Dictionary: " an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel."

Well, that's what we have here. A story is built within this story just so that Lady Emily can be saved from danger at the end of this book. That is the one and only reason for the inner story.

Tasha Alexander puts in another sly reference to Elizabeth Peters immortal Amelia Peabody here, but she is no Elizabeth Peters. The characters are so lightly drawn that I had a hard time remembering who was who among the suspects. I grew tired of Emily's drooling over her husband (is he named Colin because Alexander is one of those women in love with Colin Firth in "Pride and Prejudice," which she quotes here?), and found myself wishing that Ivy was the heroine.

I also find it hilarious that a sub-plot in the book features Colin's newly discovered lovechild (it's really no spoiler, as it happens early and abruptly in the story), and there is a reference to his already having had children, but that is the one and ONLY mention of those children in this book. I know that having kiddies around can be inconvenient (Amelia Peabody would concur with that), and that British upper class families sent the little nippers off to boarding school at an early age, but are those boys really that old yet? And don't Emily or Colin ever think of them, get a letter from/about them? Somehow you'd think there would be something connecting that to Colin's sudden extra parental duties.

Summary:
For a better taste of life in ancient Roman times, read the immortal Lindsey Davis
Her second Falco book, Shadows in Bronze, is set in Herculaneum and Pompeii.

For better books on archaeology, read the real Elizabeth Peters books.

And for better character development, better romance and better mystery, read both of these series.

[Kate Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful addition to the Lady Emily mystery series! This book deftly balances two narratives of Pompeii in alternating chapters - one of a 79 AD slave poetess and the other from 1902 AD of Lady Emily.

Our plucky protagonist, Lady Emily Hargreaves, has headed off to Pompeii accompanying her dearest friend Ivy Brandon as Ivy participates on an archaeological dig at the Pompeii ruins. Emily's husband, Colin, takes a break from English Court security and travels along with the ladies to guard against treachery. All seems rather academic until they notice a plaster body casting similar to those from the 1860s of archaeologist, Giuseppe Fiorelli. This particular casting presents itself on the excavation grounds but it has strange features in comparison to folks of Pompeii's final days. Sure enough, a recently murdered man is found in the casting. Who was this man? Who on the excavation team knew him and who had it in for him? In light of the local police not wanting to lock horns with the powerful Camorra crime syndicate, they pretty much ignore the death, leaving Sir Colin and Lady Emily to do their own clandestine sleuthing. All is not as it seems and a sudden knock on the door presents a whole new juicy twist to the success of the sleuthing duo.

I'll be honest, I had a bit of a struggle keeping tabs on all the various characters throughout the book. Frankly, a chart of characters would be a lovely addition as there are no fewer than 28 characters named within these pages. Only a small handful of these people appears in prior installments of this series. Regardless, the book is a fascinating read about the final days of Pompeii in 79 AD and of the early 20th century excavations of the ancient city. The amount of historic research which author Tasha Alexander puts into this book is Herculean and provides a wonderful glimpse into the lives of folks from both time periods. It is especially noteworthy how well she portrays the lives of women of these periods and the ways in which they navigate around men and societal norms of their day. The writing is excellent and the mise en scène superbly crafted. If historical fiction mystery with a minor touch of romance appeals to you, then this is certainly a book you too would enjoy.

I am grateful to author Tasha Alexander and St. Martin's Publishing Group for having provided a free uncorrected digital galley of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.

[Bebe (Sarah) Brechner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this new story in the Lady Emily series. Alexander has given the series new life in this fascinating setting - the ruins of Pompeii. Everything works here - atmosphere, characters, and plot. Readers who enjoy a bit of archaeology will appreciate Alexander's excellent research which gives us a view into the history and excavations of Pompeii. Alexander provides an extra bonus by layering into the novel an intriguing parallel story set during the time of the Vesuvius eruption. This serves to personalize the entombed humans strewn around Pompeii, a unique phenomenon that anyone who has been there or seen pictures will invariably ponder. This story may be the strongest yet in this superb historical series. Exciting and satisfying! Well done!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to win this as a Goodreads giveaway, as I have read the other books in the "Lady Emily" series and have enjoyed many of them. However, I have noticed that lately the author may be falling into the trap that must be near impossible not to fall into when penning a long standing series of this sort: the dreaded playing it safe, tied together with lack of character development syndrome. I appreciate that readers are expected to know the characters by now, but I still want to feel for them. I want substance and not fluff. I know the author can do better.
The beginning of the book turned me off with its over the top melodramatic storyline when a new familial character was introduced; and I may not have finished it had I not have been compelled to write a review. But in chapter 11 (page 68 of the advanced readers edition paperback version I read), when the author refers to, what I can only infer to be a reference to Amelia Peabody (series author, Elizabeth Peters), I thought that this was pretty clever (but also worrisome when the author seemed to turn her flattery into obvious imitation in parts). I won't ruin the pleasure of quoting it here so the reader can find out for his/herself.
In sum, I found this installment to be a quick, mindless read to pass the time; but perhaps this series is no longer for me.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this entry, Lady Emily and Colin are in Pompeii and they start to investigate a murder after police are unwilling to look into the matter thinking it's the work of gangs. The mystery aspect of this book was quite good with some twists and turns as I've come to expect from Tasha Alexander. There's alternating time periods in this book, the first time Tasha did this I wasn't sure that I liked it but in this book I thought it worked well.

I actually really liked the introduction of a certain character who I won't spoil and some of the conflict it caused, but I thought she was a great character and added something a bit different in a good way! I liked that even with this, Emily and Colin's relationship remained strong. I can't wait until the next book comes out as this is an excellent addition to the series.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything about this book signaled that it would appeal to me--a historical mystery set in an archeological dig of the ruins of Pompeii, plus a parallel story in Pompeii before its destruction.

I am a voracious reader of light mysteries, but Ms. Alexander's book just left me cold. I found her characters either insufficiently developed, or totally unsympathetic, particularly her protagonist Lady Emily and her husband. Their chemistry was discussed in the text, but felt contrived to me. I never bonded with any of the principal characters in this book with the possible exception of the poetess Kassandra and her friend, Melos.

I struggled to finish the novel, and even the conclusion left me less than satisfied. Regrettably, I have no appetite to read other books in this series.

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lady Emily and her husband Colin encounter a fresh body in the ruins of Pompeii, they are a little taken aback. But when the police refuse to investigate the crime, they take it on themselves. But there are a few wrenches about to be thrown into their midst, one being Colin's daughter, one that he never knew existed.
While she hates Lady Emily on sight, things are starting to get a little uncomfortable for many, as more secrets are uncovered during their investigation, and more than one person suspected of being the killer!

What a great read! This was fun, and kept my attention throughout! I read it in one sitting! Perfect for a cold afternoon curled on the couch!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC copy for a fair an unbiased review

[michelle kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received the book in the mail and finished it in a day. Having never read one of Alexander's books I couldn't put it down and will be looking for her other books in the near future.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action begins with a shocking discovery almost at page one in this latest entry in the Lady Emily series. The setting this time is Pompeii, the city ruined by a catastrophic volcano eruption in 79 AD. Lady Emily, her husband, and her best friend are on hand to play tourist, but when they find a body that met a much more recent demise, it's time to start investigating.
Many new characters are introduced in this book, some that are probably intended to stick around and become part of Lady Emily's extended family and friends. Not all of them feel quite fleshed out, and I found myself feeling less than invested in the latest Jeremy (Duke of Bainbridge) romance. The other major addition to the family party was a bit more intriguing, and had me feeling distrustful, then ambivalent, then cautiously accepting. It will be interesting to see how that one develops moving forward.
As with many of Tasha Alexander's other works in this series, pacing is really helped by chapters that alternate between Lady Emily's time and antiquity. In this case, the story is of a young Greek slave girl living in Pompeii with a talent for poetry and a problematic infatuation.
The sense of place is well developed, and the wrap-up scenes in a subterranean library in Herculaneum are particularly evocative. The details of that library sent me on a quick detour to the Internet to find out more about the real story. I really enjoyed how well the setting was researched and used in this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance review copy of In the Shadow of Vesuvius, to be published Jan. 7, 2020.

[Cara Putman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mystery. It's an interesting blend of ancient Vesuvius with a 1902 storyline. This was my first Lady Emily book, but I think I'll go back to read more. Interesing mystery, good characters. I started both threads, then read the ancient one through, and went back and read the other through. The ancient storyline was a bit predictable, but still engaging. The more modern mystery thread left me guessing!

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Of the many misfortunes that have occurred in this world, no others have given posterity such joy.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writing about Pompeii. The setting of Tasha Alexander’s In the Shadow of Vesuvius (Lady Emily, #14) just happens to be Pompeii and Herculaneum which is brilliant for me as I have been lucky enough to have visited both places! Lady Emily, her husband, Colin, close friend, Ivy, and (love this character!) Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, a childhood friend stay in a villa with a stunning view of the Bay of Naples. Oh, a ‘surprise’ character is introduced who affects Lady Emily and Colin’s lives. Think: Surprise/emotional shock!! The author’s prose flows effortlessly while imparting true and often, surprising information of the excavation of these two well-known cities in 1902. Of course, murder must enter the story, and it does with a corpse ‘ in plain sight’ until finally spotted by a member of Lady Emily’ group. Then off we go on one phenomenal wild ride to find ‘who done it’, but much more is uncovered which places Lady Emily (again) in deathly peril! Thank goodness Lady Emily is a clever, bright, knowledgeable of the Classical World as well as her present local surroundings, strong, quick-witted woman as she will need to be to survive this ‘situation’. Beautifully researched! Highly recommended! 5 stars.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Ms. Alexander's Lady Emily series for several years and was very excited to see the fourteenth installment is set at a dig in Pompeii. I was pleased that several of the main characters return, although I missed Margaret and the boys (Are they at school? I don't believe their absence was addressed).

I did not particularly enjoy the chapters with Kassandra, as they seemed to only serve the purpose of setting up the great save in the ending. I found myself skimming these chapters to get back to the main storyline.

Colin's daughter was highly abrasive and I found myself angry at Colin for how he treated her and Lady Emily. It did not feel accurate to his character in the previous books.

I hope to see more from Jeremy and Calliope in future books. I really loved their interactions!

Despite the aspects of this installment in the Lady Emily series, it was truly an enjoyable book.

This book was given to me free from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy Lady Emily’s adventures! I love historical fiction and appreciate the research behind these stories. I’ve enjoyed seeing the characters develop over time, and I always look forward to the next installment. Thanks for the opportunity to receive an ARC!

[Groucho42 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good one. The basics are ok, but the interstitial flashbacks are, as usual, terrible. The only saving grace is this are 1.5-4 pages, easy to skip or skim. In this one, as the title implies, they visit the island and an excavation going on at Pompeii. The author write an unneeded flashback about an idiot pre-eruption who sounds almost exactly like Emily.

Meanwhile Emily and crew investigate a murder, have a relationship with weird and suspicious siblings and do other typical things. Unfortunately, Alexander has to add a new kid for Colin, straight out of cardboard central casting. Also, the idiocy of the murder victim being plastered by a killer yet nobody noticing and with the sideburns still visible was truly idiotic. The author remains very variable. Maybe the next book will be back up to an average novel.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. This is the fourteenth book in the series. Like all of the “Lady Emily” mysteries, the historical details are very well researched and presented. Like always, however, there is also a lack of characterization. I have the same complaint about this novel as all of the others: I couldn’t tell you what any character looks like, except for Colin’s “ dark curls”. Another odd (and glaring) omission: you’d never know Lady Emily has children back at home - she never mentions them!

[Sharon Huether · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pompeii, Italy...The archaeologists were busy with on going digs. Tourists were everywhere.
A visitor to Italy, Lady Emily Hargreaves discovered a body in plain sight placed with some of the mummified bodies from the big irruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Lady Hargreaves does her own investigating. The guilty person, then tries to kill her.

I won this free book from Goodreads First reads.

[Deidre · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two hundred pages in and I'm still forcing myself to keep reading. There are only 286 pages in the book! Screw it, I'm reviewing it now.

I had hoped the cool location would help hold my interest in the mystery but nope. I'm actually kind of mad at this book - Did Colin really need a bitchy illegitimate daughter? Alas, the best thing about this installment is the cover.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the setting having just been there but the story was meh

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Emily, her husband, and her old friend Ivy are visiting Pompeii in grand fashion (of course), when they discover among the casts of bodies long dead that of a New York newspaperman who was alive a week or so ago. Naturally, Lady Emily can't leave it at that, although her life has a major complication: The hitherto unbeknownst illegitimate daughter of her husband! As she often does, Alexander interposes chapters in Lady Emily's present--actually 1902--with shorter chapters narrating the exploits of a former slave who is also a poet shortly before Vesuvius erupts. While the older story is interesting, I found it took me out of Lady Emily's story and limited my enjoyment. Tastes differ.

[Linniegayl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this latest Lady Emily mystery set in Pompeii. As with all of the recent Lady Emily books, the chapters rotate between the mystery Emily and Colin are investigating with chapters set immediately before the destruction of Pompeii. I was caught up in the mystery featuring Lady Emily and Colin almost immediately -- perhaps because they find a dead body within the first few pages. It took me much longer to warm to the story of the young Greek slave, but by the end of the book I also was intrigued with that story.

Overall I'd give this a B, so four stars here.

[Daniella Bernett · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all her novels, Tasha Alexander deftly intertwines mysteries from two different eras and infuses them with a richness of detail. "In the Shadow of Vesuvius" takes the reader to Pompeii, a city that left a profound impression on me. Alexander made me feel I was once again walking in the footsteps of the ancients and she tossed in an intricate puzzle to challenge my intellect.

[Adysnewbox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a long-time Lady Emily reader, but I will freely admit that the best days of this series are probably behind it. The characters all seem to be stuck in neutral most of the time, and the mysteries are starting to feel same-y, but occasionally the exotic locale will inspire Tasha Alexander to greater creative heights. "In The Shadow of Vesuvius" seems to exemplify this tendency; a hum-drum mystery set in a fascinating location. Ms. Alexander clearly is a Pompeii enthusiast; she has done quite a bit of research on the lost city (her sources cited at book's end are surprisingly extensive!). Overall, she has done an excellent job of bringing Pompeii to life in TWO different times: back in its heyday as a vibrant cultural center (as seen in a side-narrative, now a common conceit in the Lady Emily books); and also as a "lost city" buried in volcanic ash, sought out by treasure-seekers and archaeologists world-wide. Since the "present day" for "Shadow of Vesuvius" is 1902, the archaeology is much less refined & standardized, and there is a bit of an erratic, "gold-rush" feel to even the most ostensibly scientific of endeavors. All this is a fascinating background to set our story. If only the story had measured up to the setting!!

Emily and her special-agent-to-the-crown husband Colin are invited to a Pompeii expedition by Emily's long-time friend Ivy Brandon (their kids, as always, are left at home, apparently being narrative dead-weight). But they haven't been there long before a Dreadful Murder is discovered (as so often happens). Since modern Pompeii is run by the Mafia (apparently?), and they want to hush up all crimes (I think???), it falls to Emily and Colin (and Ivy, in a rare assist), to investigate the crime. What follows is pretty standard; the "usual suspects" start to act shady while Emily & Colin investigate them all, each in their own special fashion. A series of thinly veiled, antiquity-themed threats to Lady Emily start to complicate their search for the truth. And of course, there are a couple of tense scenes in lonely, buried atria or in rugged, cluttered digging sites.

It's all fairly run-of-the-mill stuff for the Lady Emily series; none of the scenes are terrible (with one or two minor exceptions), but none are super amazing either. The parallel narrative (that of a beautiful young woman--who is a freed slave--living in Pompeii shortly before the eruption) is rich in historical detail, but lacking in originality. The "twist" of the story (which involves the woman's talent writing epic poetry) is hugely predictable; I predicted what was going to happen in practically the first chapter. Worst of all, the parallel narrative has almost no connection or relevance to the "modern-day" mystery, so it feels like nigh-useless filler.

The character development (such as it is) mostly feels like filler as well. Ivy, thankfully, gets a bit more to do (her underrated organizational skills and wry wit are well employed here), but Jeremy Bainbridge (normally one of my favorites) shows up in the narrative for no apparent reason and his usual welcome wit feels pretty tired and stale here. Frankly, I think this book would have worked better without him! (And it pains me to say that; I really do like Jeremy.)

But the weirdest addition by far to the Lady Emily world is the sudden appearance of Kat, a beautiful young woman who (SPOILER) turns out to be Colin's biological daughter, by an old flame of his--a fellow spy who died many books ago. This, naturally, leads to a bunch of awkwardness and strain in Emily and Colin's relationship, not to mention complications in their investigation (since Kat wants to follow in her mother's spy footsteps and insists on helping solve the case). There are a lot of incredibly cliched character beats from this subplot, that had me rolling my eyes in frustration. I also kept waiting for the other shoe to drop...was Kat, in some way, connected to the murder case in Pompeii? Was she really Colin's daughter? As it turns out, she apparently WAS Colin's daughter...and she WASN'T connected with the murder in any way...but nor did she contribute in any significant way to solving said murder. Kat was just...there for the majority of the book. It was a baffling choice to add her to this book...perhaps Kat will be more interesting in later books (if there are any) but in "Vesuvius" she exists solely to pad out the book. Very disappointing!

All in all, I suspect "Vesuvius" was written because Tasha Alexander loves studying Pompeii, not because she had a great story to share or a great mystery to write. The final chase scene was suitably exciting and there were a handful of moments that remind me why I enjoy this series. But overall, it felt like a fairly insubstantial entry, with character arcs that I sincerely hope can be improved upon in later volumes.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very lucky to win this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Lady Emily is one of my favorite characters and I look forward to each and every installment of her story.

There are no spoilers in this review. This book takes place in the wonderful setting of Pompeii and, as in the past several books, the story follows parallel timelines between Lady Emily and another's story. As is usually the case, Lady Emily discovers a murder victim in the opening pages and she and Colin set out to find the murderer. The beginning of the book moves at a fast pace, introducing characters and their backgrounds. Lady Emily's friend Ivy is along for the ride and assists where she can. Jeremy (who is one of my absolute favorite characters) shows up in his good-natured way. In the meantime, we meet some characters from AD 79 and their story is intriguing. I really started to feel connected to them early on and couldn't figure out how the two storylines were going to connect.

The middle of the book got a little slow for me. Lady Emily and Colin each followed leads to try to solve the crime, and it did get a bit repetitious. A few of the characters became a little tiresome to me, however the writing was superb as always and I didn't get bored with the story. Intermingled with the murder mystery was a new character who tries to turn Lady Emily and Colin's life upside down, and almost succeeds. Without giving spoilers, I look forward to seeing how this person fits into upcoming books.

As I got towards the end of the book, the story picked up pace and started to wrap up very quickly. The two storylines met up in a very unexpected and actually beautiful way. It happened so fast that I did go back and re-read some of it because I felt I had missed some details.

At any rate, the murder is solved, Lady Emily does get into a bit of trouble, and it wrapped up nicely. This book has given me a renewed interest in Pompeii and I plan to read more about it, and that's one of the reasons I always love this series, for it gives me a glimpse into bygone eras and historical events, which I love. I will look forward to the next book in the series!