Scattered Legacy: Murder in Southern Italy

In Scattered Legacy, Marlene Bell takes us from the Manhattan art gallery world to the glitz and glamour of Italy. Alec plans to take Annalisse to see Bari, Italy, his mother's birthplace. It's supposed to be a relaxing vacation, a time of togetherness for them. But they don't figure on a murder implicating a former employee of the Zavos family business. Alec, Annalisse, and their friend and detective Bill Drake soon find themselves drawn into a tangle of mystery, murder, and Mafia.
The characters in this book are well-developed, the likable ones easy to like and the hateable ones easy to hate. Annalisse comes across as a bit diffident at times, especially when she starts to question where she really stands with Alec, but when the chips are down and it really counts, she stays cool, calm, and collected. Generosa, the art maven with a mysterious past. She loves her family, and she includes Annalisse in the circle of those she loves. She may not realize the danger that awaits when she gifts Annalisse with a medieval rosary. Alec, determined to clear his father's name and successfully sell the family business as well as unravel the former CFO's involvement in the ugly murder they've stumbled into.

Marlene Bell takes you on a transatlantic thrill ride with this one. I was drawn in from the beginning with the idea that Annalisse has suffered because of secrets kept from her. When it turned out that Generosa may have kept secrets of her own from everyone, even her family, I couldn't put the book down! There's a grisly death, white collar crime, a seemingly abandoned cat that may play an important role, chases and pursuits, and so much more. And let's not forget romance. Could you have a book set in Italy with no romance in it? Don't worry, though, the romance isn't front and center at the expense of the mystery.

Scattered Legacy is the third in a series, but I was able to pick up enough of the back story from this book to read it as a stand-alone. I'll go back and read the first two, though, because this one was mighty good! I recommend you do the same.

Five “ready to hop a plane and go to Italy” stars for Scattered Legacy. I hope there are more to come in the series!