Murder in Hand

Alicia Allen - the London solicitor with such a passion for justice, it would make even Portia envious - returns to star in this novel set in London and Italy. Also on board is Alicia's love interest and fellow solicitor, Alex Waterford, who is as willing as she is to take on the Mafia in this tangled mystery of corruption on both sides of the law. When the handsome Italian, Fabio Angelino, shows up in Alicia's office asking her to handle the Probate of his mother's English estate he reveals that someone has been trying to kill him - perhaps the same killer responsible for his father's disappearance. Fabio's father worked with Alicia's Uncle Vico at a New York firm before being transferred to their UK branch, and vanishing in Sicily sixteen years ago. Although the Italian police suspected the Mafia was responsible for his death, the case remains unsolved. Alicia's fellow solicitor and cohort, Alex Waterford, feels concern for her safety and urges her not to get too involved. He is also somewhat jealous of the dashing Fabio whose Italian charms are not lost on the Anglo-Italian Alicia.  However, when Fabio's sister, Guilia, is found callously murdered, Alicia feels compelled to investigate. Her quest takes her through Sicily and mainland Italy - Tuscany and Umbria - over beautiful but sinister terrain as she finds herself pulled into an underworld where the most dangerous and corrupt criminals are those who hide behind the law. The case brings to the surface our heroine's Italian heritage and willingness to take on dark forces to bring about justice; but in her bid to entrap the perpetrators, has Alicia taken on malevolent forces too great, and will this be her last investigation?