Synopsis:
To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, action-packed adventure, and the occasional dead body.
When Alec schedules an overseas trip to show Annalisse his mother’s birthplace in Bari, Italy, he squeezes in the high-stakes business of divesting his family’s international corporation. But things go terribly wrong as murder makes its familiar reappearance in their lives – and this time it’s Alec’s disgraced former CFO who’s the main suspect.
Accompanied by friend and detective Bill Drake, Annalisse and Alec find themselves embroiled in a behind-closed-doors conspiracy that threatens the reputation and legacy of Alec’s late father – linking him to embezzlement, extortion, and the dirty business of the Sicilian Mafia. The search for the truth sends the trio straight into riddles, secrets, and an historic set of rosary beads. Annalisse leads Alec toward a discovery that is unthinkable, and events that will change their futures forever.
Scattered Legacy is the third in Marlene M. Bell’s thrilling Annalisse series, which weaves romance, crime, and historical mystery into addictive tales to instantly captivate fans of TV show Bones or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Rating: 4-stars
Review:
Scattered Legacy: Murder in Southern Italy by Marlene M. Bell is part of a new series. This is the third book in the mystery series. The tale itself also has several mysteries that all unravel to reveal one big story. I enjoyed how detailed, and action packed this story was. Annalise is the leading female character. I love how she has a special gift and how that is used within the story.
Annalise is a character whose dialogue is easy to read. It just flows so well. However, she backs away easily from situations instead of confronting them. She hides away half the time. That pulls me away from her as a character especially since she’s the heroine. Her love interest seems too preoccupied at times. Annalise feels and appears to be second in line to everything Alec does.
One of the fascinating highlights to this novel was the historical art. The antique jewelry and stuff peaked my full attention. Overall, I enjoyed the action, the drama, the dialogue between characters, and the crimes. The main characters feel mild and did not win me over quite as much as I thought they would.
However, with it being the third book in a series, their character growth may come to full bloom and change as the other books are released. I would still read the other two books to find out what happened. Marlene M. Bell creates an interesting fictional world full of adventure, risks, and intrigue.
Urban Book Reviews 