Intrigue in Italics

A Claire Gulliver Mystery

On her first day in Florence, hot, jet-lagged, waiting on the curb to cross the busy street, she locks eyes with a passing cyclist. Imagine her excitement at recognizing a friend so far from home. But after the cyclist averts her head and passes, Claire realizes the woman could not have been her friend since only last year she had sadly attended her funeral.

This third adventure of travel-bookstore owner Claire Gulliver finds her joining her mother, Millie, and her mother's friend, Ruth, in Italy. Claire intends to "do" Florence while her mother and her friend attend a prestigious cooking school in the hills of Tuscany before they all go on to visit Venice.

In spite of her mother's warning the cyclist couldn't have been her friend, or perhaps because of it, Claire adds one more item to her To Do list. She is determined to track down the person she saw on the street and establish without a doubt her identity.

Meanwhile Millie and Ruth join a diverse group of chefs in the picturesque countryside to learn to cook Italian. But somehow amidst this satisfying environment of creating new dishes, exploring local wineries and food markets, disturbing incidents occur. Italian cuisine turns out to be more dangerous than anyone expected.

Once more Claire becomes involved in intrigue but this time her mother finds herself embroiled in her own exciting adventure. No matter how dangerous life becomes they are each comforted by thinking the other is safely involved in innocuous pursuits. But they are both wrong!