I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This 15th addition to the Lady Emily series continues to intertwine historical action and mystery into a fascinating narrative. This Lady Emily book is set in Renaissance and early-1900s Florence, Italy. It sends readers into a world where art, politics, and secrets collide.

What I Liked:

1. Historical Information: Alexander's meticulous research shines through, bringing Florence to life. From the Medici family's power struggles to the vibrant art scene, the historical context adds depth and authenticity.

2. Dual Storylines: The novel alternates between past and present, intertwining the lives of two strong female protagonists. This dual narrative keeps readers engaged, revealing hidden connections and unraveling mysteries.

What I Wished For:

1. More of My Favorite Characters: While I enjoyed learning about new characters in this book, as well as another appearance by Cecile, I missed the series' familiar faces like Jeremy, Kat, and Emily & Colin's young boys. Including them in this book could have added an extra layer of enjoyment.

In summary, "The Dark Heart of Florence" is a delightful blend of history and suspense, perfect for fans of both genres. Alexander's prose transports readers to a bygone era, and the dual timelines keep the pages turning. While I missed some beloved characters, the overall experience was enjoyable.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Great murder mystery. The cover is pretty.

I really enjoyed this newest installment! The mystery was perfectly paced and I loved getting a glimpse into the Medici era.

Name a better way to spend an afternoon than embroiled in a globe trotting, historical murder mystery. Each one of Tasha Alexanders Lady Emily series continue to get better and better.

Emily and Colin travel to Florence supposedly to check out Colin's daughter's newly inherited house. Things heat up when someone is murdered and Colin tells Emily he can't tell her anything because of his job as an agent of the crown. Thing become tedious as Emily and her friend insist on conducting their own investigation and she tries to get info from Colin with her "feminine wiles".
Not a particularly good addition to this series.

I have had the pleasure of reading previous books from Tasha Alexander's series, Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries and thought I Dark Heart of Florence was a pretty good addition to it. Four and a half stars.

Lady Emily rarely disappoints. This one, switching from the era of Savonarola and the Bonfires of the Vanities to 1903 when Lady Emily, Colin Hargreaves, and Emily's French friend Cecile visit Colin's daughter's palazzo. The staff was trained by Colin's first wife, a secret agent but they are curiously faceless. Ancient treasure and graffiti on the walls play a large part of the mystery. and, as always, Emily is tireless in surmounting Colin's refusal to share his top-secret information. The older story, told by a young Florentine noblewoman of the 15th century, is the more interesting of the two tracks. In all, I found this less of an interesting story than a historical treatise on women's positions in the age of total male domination. Barely a four.

Lady Emily mysteries are always a good time and this one was no exception. Following her signature style, Tasha Alexander’s Emily gets herself involved in things she really shouldn’t, because she just can’t stand not doing it.

This one involves a historical Italian home, a who-dunnit murder mystery (of course), renaissance-era history, and the beautiful city of Florence.

Lively, fun, well-researched, but approachable - A great read for a relaxing day with some lighthearted fun watching as the plot unwinds.

A big thank you to Tasha Alexander, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this review.

Looking for a copy of The Dark Heart of Florence? Please consider buying from Bookshop.org – the online bookstore that gives 75% of the book’s profit back to independent bookshops. Find this title at https://bookshop.org/lists/best-fiction-of-2021.

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Tasha Alexander does it again! The suspense, the character development, the plot. This isn't my favorite of her novels but it definitely did not disappoint!

This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was detrimental to my sleep. I wanted to read all night.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’ve enjoyed the earlier books in the Lady Emily Ashton series, and the setting in Grand Tour era Florence had me eagerly anticipating “The Dark Heart of Florence”.

Emily and her husband Colin are spies. Unfortunately, he is the only one recognized by the British Government. Emily is an enthusiastic amateur, but one who repeatedly gets results. It was a little tedious in this book, then, that Colin wouldn’t share information with his wife, although he supported her attempts to collect information.

The villain was a bit transparent here as well. I won’t say anything more about that, although I’m sure you will also catch on early!

For now, I’ll stick to the earlier entries in the series that I haven’t read, and see if Alexander gets back on her form with Emily and Colin!

Tasha Alexander takes us into the Dark Heart of Florence in 1903 and the 1490's, the time of Savanarola. Lady Emily has accompanied her husband Colin Hargreaves to Florence in pursuit of his work for British intelligence; bodies start dropping. Lady Emily investigates but runs into roadblocks; The Renaissance story tells of a love affair gone wrong, marriage and life for a wealthy lady of the merchant class, and the attempt to protect the literary and artistic treasures of the lady's grandfather from Savanarola's thugs. Emily's search for the killer comes to a shocking end. Read and see if you can decipher whodunit.

This is the 15th book in her Lady Emily Aston Mysteries. I didn’t read the previous books but this works as a stand alone. In this story Lady Emily and her husband travel to Florence in 1903 after a series of break-ins at his illegitimate daughters house. When they are there they learn that there are rumours of both a treasure in the house and a curse. The story moves between 1903 and Florence starting in 1497 the time during which the rumours began. I enjoyed reading this book very much but I felt that book and art references to the time period were nice but the overall feel was a kind if elaborate method of showing off how well read and how knowledgeable the author was on art in Florence. The author creates compelling characters in both time periods and there is enough mystery, intrigue and suspense to hold anyone’s attention. I liked this a lot intellectually but the characters were rather one note and the plot was thin. What I liked most was looking on Google Maps for places mentioned in the stories. They are still there and that is great. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have been reading and listening to this series for awhile now, but I'm so far from this in line of this book as I believe it's 15th in the series. You can read this alone as this fantastic adventure of crime and laughs and love and marriage and their family go on as Colin and Emily worked together to solve different crimes and at times their own lives are in danger.. I did read and the adventures continue but in this one its closer to home as this story involves their own family..Tasha Alexander again has out done herself in not only in her style of writing but drawing you into this story as it you are right there watching the story unfold. Fantastic research as she always does in her stories where you don't lack culture of the country she takes you to in this crime. As you read either The series of just this one you will see how the characters become real people and you really think so after you read their adventures not only with Colin and Emily but with the colorful people they met along the way and involve old friends and family!! Going back to where I left off on this series so I don't miss not only the crimes but miss what happens to Emily and Colin as husband and wife!! Travel the world with these two in this most important and fantastic series you will so enjoy!! Received from Net Gallery,thanks for letting me read!!

An enigmatic book. This story happens over two timelines. In 1903, the tensions between Germany and Great Britain began to intensify. Colin is a British Crown agent. He and his wife Emily travel to Tuscany. As soon as they arrive, they witness a terrible event. A stranger jumps from the roof of a building. Colin and his agent have missions they must do. Emily, feeling excluded, decides to investigate the event of the alleged suicide. The story encompasses many elements. I like that the author has included excerpts in Italian and Latin. I felt that the setting of the novel was incredible. Florence is undoubtedly a city full of mysteries that cause me a lot of curiosity. This book showed some of those mysteries, which made me enjoy the story. I thank NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Dark Heart of Florence by Tasha Alexander is the 15th book in her Lady Emily Aston Mysteries. I don’t think you have to read all of the previous books in order to enjoy reading this one but I do recommend the series as it is excellent. In this story Lady Emily and her husband travel to Florence in 1903 after a series of break-ins at his daughters house. When they are there they learn that there are rumours of both a treasure in the house and a curse. The story moves between 1903 and Florence starting in 1497 the time during which the rumours began. I enjoyed reading this book very much, the author creates compelling characters in both time periods and there is enough mystery, intrigue and suspense to keep one saying just one more chapter until the book is finished. Publishing Date: March 9, 2021 #TheDarkHeart of Florence #TashaAlexander #LadyEmilyAstonMysteries #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley #HistoricalMysteryNovel #bookstagram #bookstagramer

Overall, THE DARK HEART OF FLORENCE is an enjoyable read. As always, author Tasha Alexander’s love and knowledge of history shines through, but Lady Emily feels a bit thin to me this time around. Following the form of the last few books in the series, DARK HEART is told in a dual timeline. The Tuscan setting is sublime, but I did not care about the fifteenth century story. Mina’s tale is heartbreaking, mostly from her own doing, and falls flat. Lady Emily’s mystery does have an unexpected ending which is its saving grace, but Colin and Emily lack chemistry. I miss the sparkle of the early books in the series.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.

The Dark Heart of Florence by Tasha Alexander is the 15th book in the Lady Emily Mystery series. This book takes place at the beginning of the 1900s and follows Emily and her husband, Colin, after Colin’s daughters home had been burglarized twice. Lady Emily doesn’t intend to eavesdrop, but overhears Colin’s boss tell him that he will be investigating while in Florence. It is decided that it would be a good cover to have Emily’s friend, Cecile travel with them and assist Emily with her search for clues. Their investigation leads them to a treasure rumored to be hidden in Lady Emily’s stepdaughters home (the home they are staying in) and the mystery surrounding the treasure.

We are also introduced to late 1400s Florence through the eyes of a young woman, Mina. Mina has the opportunity to visit the thinkers of the time with her grandfather. He introduces her to ideas that, because she is a woman, wouldn’t normally be open to her. This opportunity shapes her life and eventually, her story intersects with Lady Emily’s mystery, just hundreds of years later. I especially loved Mina and could not wait to learn more about her.

It is no surprise that I enjoyed this book; Tasha Alexander has a talent for creating a solid mystery surrounded by interesting characters and places. The time she puts into researching the setting of her novels is apparent and appreciated. I felt as though I were walking along the historic streets of Florence visiting all the beautiful museums.

The Dark Heart of Florence is the fifteenth book in a series featuring Lady Emily, her husband Colin and those around them. Long term readers will be delighted to again spend time with these characters and those new to the books may well want to go back and read at least some of the earlier entries.

There are many things that were appealing in this latest dual timeline story. One of these is the author’s knowledge of Florence, the Medici family, Savonarola and the imagined lives of those who lived at that time. She then takes readers on a virtual tour of that same city in 1903. It bears repeating that the erudite Ms. Alexander knows her Florence.

For those who may not know, Lady Emily’s husband works for the British government. His jobs often involve secrecy. However, Lady Emily, who is not a typical woman of her time, always becomes involved as well. Watching how their work leads to a restoration of order is another enjoyable aspect to the series.

In the part of the book that is set during the time of Botticelli, readers meet a young woman who wants more than what a young woman can typically expect, which is an arranged marriage. Who she falls in love with and the consequences of that choice form one thread of the narrative.

In 1903, Lady Emily, her close friend, her husband and her husband’s work colleague are staying in the home that was bequeathed to Colin’s daughter from an earlier relationship. A body falls to the ground. Why was he murdered? Does it have to do with Colin’s work or, possibly, a hidden treasure? Readers will keep turning the pages in order to find out.

Readers can be sure that they will find plenty of adventure in this story that is engaging and interesting. I definitely recommend this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.