The Spanish Diplomat's Secret: A Mystery

(Hardback)

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Description

In The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, award-winning author Nev March explores the vivid nineteenth-century world of the transatlantic voyage, one passenger's secret at a time. Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are embarking to England in the summer of 1894. Jim is hopeful the cruise will help Diana open up to him. Something is troubling her, and Jim is concerned. On their first evening, Jim meets an intriguing Spaniard, a fellow soldier with whom he finds an instant kinship. But within twenty-four hours, Don Juan Nepomuceno is murdered, his body discovered shortly after he asks rather urgently to see Jim. When the captain discovers that Jim is an investigator, he pleads with Jim to find the killer before they dock in Liverpool in six days, or there could be international consequences. Aboard the beleaguered luxury liner are a thousand suspects, but no witnesses to the locked-cabin crime. Jim would prefer to keep Diana safely out of his investigation, but he's doubled over, seasick. Plus, Jim knows Diana can navigate the high society world of the ship's first-class passengers in ways he cannot. Together, using the tricks gleaned from their favorite fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, Jim and Diana must learn why one man's life came to a murderous end.

Reviews

"March's gift for elevated language nicely supports the period setting. . . Familiar mystery tropes are skillfully woven into an entertaining vintage whodunit." -Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Nev March and the Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mysteries

"An instantly likeable character whose good heart and endearing ways make him an ideal narrator." --The New York Times Book Review on Murder in Old Bombay

"If historical fiction and mystery appeal to you, don't miss this series." --Jersey's Best

"Definitely recommended." --Historical Novel Society

"Fans of Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy series will find plenty to like." --Publishers Weekly

"March has created the perfect armchair escape from the summer blues in Peril at the Exposition." -BookTrib

Author Bio

NEV MARCH is the winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award for her award-winning, Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay. Leaving a long career in business analysis in 2015, she returned to her passion, writing fiction. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Crime Writers of Color. A Parsee Zoroastrian herself, Nev lives with her husband and sons in New Jersey.