ARC Review: Death by Misadventure by Tasha Alexander

Death By Misadventure
Author: Tasha Alexander
Series: Lady Emily Mystery (Book 18)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 24, 2024)

Description: In the latest installment of Tasha Alexander’s New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily must solve a string of high stakes “accidents” while trapped in a lavish villa in the Bavarian Alps.

In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig’s fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection―as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness’ boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.

Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on. But while King Ludwig is content to live out a fantasy where their responsibilities don't matter and the outside world doesn't affect them, Niels knows that their bliss cannot last forever...

Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal “mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It’s up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer.

My Thoughts: The eighteenth Lady Emily mystery finds Lady Emily and her husband at a house party in the Bavarian Alps. Baroness Ursula von Duchtel has built a lovely modern home and filled it with her eclectic collection of art. The house party is also eclectic since it includes her daughter and boorish son-in-law Kaspar, Kaspar's best friend and his love interest, a love interest of the daughter, and an art dealer from Munich hoping to make a sale among others. 

When a series of accidents targeting Kaspar occurs, Lady Emily and Colin investigate. But when tragedy finally strikes, it is the Baroness's daughter who is the victim. She was on a solitary sleigh ride with her husband when she was shot in the head. 

Bad weather keeps the police from arriving to investigate but also allows Lady Emily and Colin time to find the villain.

Meanwhile, there is another story woven into the main one. In 1868 a young man named Niels meets King Ludwig and the two begin a relationship much to the dismay of his father. Niels' father drags him back home and forces his marriage to a young woman who is no more eager for the marriage than Neils is. The couple are each determined to lead their own lives which isn't possible until the father's death. 

It only gradually becomes apparent how the two interwoven stories are connected and how events from the past impact the current murder. 

This was another entertaining episode in the Lady Emily series. I like the historical detail. 

Favorite Quote:

"He doesn't strike me as the murderous type."

"Precisely," I said, "and if he's responsible for the attacks on Kaspar, he's demonstrated that he's not particularly capable, either. He may, however, eventually get the hang of it."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.