In the Shadow of Vesuvius

A Lady Emily Mystery

By: Tasha Alexander

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

In skillfully intertwined story lines from the dawn of the 20th century and the heyday of the Roman Empire, Tasha Alexander's In the Shadow of Vesuvius, the latest installment to her best-selling series, brings Lady Emily and her husband to Pompeii, where they uncover a recent crime in the ancient city.

Some corpses lie undisturbed longer than others. But when Emily discovers a body hidden in plain sight amongst the ruins of Pompeii, she sets in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her future to the fate of a woman whose story had been lost for nearly 2,000 years.

Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, have accompanied her dear friend Ivy Brandon on a trip to Pompeii. When they uncover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Emily launches an investigation of her own. She seems to be aided by the archaeologists excavating the ruins, including a moody painter, the enigmatic site director, and a free-thinking American capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge. But each of them has secrets hiding among the ruins.

The sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves family throws Emily’s investigation off-course. And as she struggles to face an unsettling truth about Colin’s past, it becomes clear that someone else wants her off the case - for good. Emily’s resolve to unearth the facts is unshakable. But how far below the surface can she dig before she risks burying herself along with the truth?

©2019 Tasha Alexander (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Excellent

This author gets better and better. I have read all the books in this series, each one has been better than the one before.

Another Success!

From story to performance, an A+! Sometimes I was sure Bianca had been joined by a male narrator. Story keeps you on the edge and again, Tasha masterfully weaves the story across centuries!

Excellent narrator

This narrator brought this story to life. Even with all of the myriad characters she kept them individual. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this story set in Pompeii. I loved the alternating timeline between 1902 and 79ad and enjoyed the interaction of Colin and Emily and their friends. The only thing I didn't quite like was the introduction of a daughter into their lives. Especially since she was from Colin's time with the Countess. Plus I in general dislike when an author introduces conflict in the family. I prefer the conflict to be primarily outside of the inter family dynamics. But that just my preference. The mystery was well plotted and I had no clue who was the murderer until the great reveal.

Great Read

I love stories by Tasha Alexander, it has been years since I read one of her adventures. It was like coming home. A new twist a step daughter has introduced herself. Narration added to the telling of the story.

Shadow of Vesuvius

This excellent story brought forth images of the horror of long ago when Pompeii was covered my the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. It made it real

As far as the saga with Colin’s daughter Kat showing up I was not happy! Lol you see how real the author makes the characters?

On to the next adventure. As always excellent narration!

Not my favorite

I have to say I’ve been reading this series for a long time and I really struggled to get through this one. The side storyline was annoying and for the way it connected later it seemed like a giant waste of time and I had no sympathy for the character by the end. I was just so annoyed with the whole thing.

The new character also annoyed the crap out of me and colons interactions with them was so completely out of character.

All in all I’d say skip this one and just get the summary in the beginning of the next book.