If you've never heard of Savonarola you will love this book! I only knew his name, but didn't know anything about him. He and the Medici's are important characters in The Dark Heart of Florence, and I found it absolutely fascinating. I had not read any books in the Lady Emily Series in a couple of years. I had stopped reading them after Book 6, but then I won an ARC of The Dark Heart of Florence, and was curious to see how much Colin and Emily had changed over the years.

There were not as many changes as I had imagined. One new thing was that Colin met a daughter he never knew existed. This happened in Book 14, In the Shadow of Vesuvius. I was so intrigued, that I read that book right after I finished this one.

Another new (to me) development is the format of the last few books. TA started to write dual timeline stories starting with Book 13, Uneasy Lies the Crown, where one story takes place in their present time and the other takes place sometime in the past. There is a connection between the past and their present, and the investigation seeks to find out what it is. Although some readers don't like this format, I loved it.

Even though I enjoyed this book very much, I found that I liked the story that is set in the past much better. I absolutely loved Mina's story (set in 15th century Florence)! In the previous book, In the Shadow of Vesuvius, I loved that historical story better also. I noticed that TA writes historical fiction with much more empathy for her heroines than she does for Emily. Often I find Emily cold, or snarky, and there is so much time devoted to providing Red Herrings, that the story gets bogged down in details that lead nowhere. IMO there isn't enough character development even though that part of the book is much longer.

I enjoyed this book so much, that I plan to return to the series. I didn't realize that I would miss Cecile, Ivy, Jeremy, and Margaret that much.
#TheDarkHeartofFlorence #NetGalley

Tasha Alexander does a great job of transporting the reader to Florence. I felt like I was there with Lady Emily and Colin as they solved their latest mystery. I wish I was there! Another good mystery that weaves in historical events and people. I have read this entire series and always look forward to reading the next one.

I received this mystery as an ARC from net galley. This was my First Lady Emily Mystery, and I requested this ARC because of the setting of Florence and historical drama. I enjoyed the character of Emily and her resourcefulness and spirit as a sleuth. The connections to the Medeci family and clues, kept me in suspense anc eager to finish reading.

Yes, it has been inconvenient trying to incorporate Colin's recently revealed daughter into their lives, but Emily is trying her best, despite appearances, or more rightly, accusations, that she let a dead body end up in her step-daughters bed. It's not like the bed was being occupied by anyone other than the corpse! Colin's ex, Kristiana von Lange, left their daughter a palazzo in Florence. A palazzo which is reputed to have a hidden treasure secreted in the walls and has been the target of a string of burglaries. This has come to the attention of Colin's shadowy superiors and he has been asked to investigate, discreetly. This means he heads off to Florence with Emily and her friend Cécile in tow making it look like a holiday when really they are to meet up with Colin's colleague Darius Benton-Stone. And Emily really is supposed to be viewing the excursion as a holiday, because Colin can not tell her all the real reasons Florence is important at this moment, but what is she to do when a body just lands at her feet? And no, this isn't the body in the bed, that's later. This is a body that fell off the roof into the courtyard AT HER FEET! The poor corpse is known. He was one of the palazzo's servants. Which makes the case even more interesting. All the servants were carefully picked by Kristiana and therefore aren't your typical servants. But thankfully, like servants everywhere, they are open to a little gossip. Which leads Emily to look into the rumors of the treasure... and the more she looks, the more plausible it seems, but also the more dangerous it becomes. There are corpses of treasure hunters littered in the wake of the rumor. If Emily isn't careful she or someone she loves could be next.

Lady Emily's latest adventure is a breathtaking tale combing the literary heart of The Name of the Rose with the history of The Birth of Venus and a dash of the love letter to Florence that is A Room with a View. I almost feel like what I'm about to say is sacrilege because it is such a classic, but suck it E.M. Forster, A Room with a View is no longer my favorite book set in Florence. Yes, I'm a sucker for murder mysteries solved by a certain Lady Emily, but it's more than that, I felt more connected to Florence as a whole than to just one character's experiences of Florence. This wasn't filtered through the eyes of Lucy Honeychurch, and while you could argue, isn't this filtered through the eyes of Lady Emily? I'd disagree, because Emily is a more reliable narrator, plus the inclusion of a secondary voice from the past lends a more rounded portrait of the city and it's history. So now that I've offended all you Forster lovers, without even ranting about Howards End, let's get back to the most important part of what I said, and that's Florence. I've said this before about Tasha's writing, but it bears repeating, I don't just love Tasha's work for her work, I love her work for how much it connects me back to other things I've loved. She's the center of a mind map that connected me while reading this book to my love of the kitschy Da Vinci's Demons, which was set in Florence, and most importantly to my love of art history. Art history and the Renaissance is more about Florence than you can imagine if you've never studied it. It is literally where the Renaissance started! So to study one you must study the other and because of that I have this big old soft spot for Florence. Tasha brought me back to my first love of the city and made it even more unforgettable. The truth is the whole Lady Emily series combines my love of art and literature, making me agree with Mena about what treasure really is.

This adventure for Lady Emily and agent of the British crown husband Colin takes them to Florence. A man is thrown off the roof of their apartment shortly after their arrival. Colin and his fellow secret agent Darius have to investigate, and they are under strict orders to not share their discoveries with anyone.

This series usually provides plenty of fast moving action, great romantic chemistry between Emily and Colin and witty dialogue galore. I felt this one fell a bit flat.

A great deal of history of Florence is included, and while interesting, it is sometimes a bit much and slows down the story. The story has two voices, told in alternating chapters, and I admit this is a device I am growing tired of. The machinations for keeping Lady Emile and her haughty friend Cecile in the dark while the men do their own sleuthing is not very believable. The usually highly charged relationship between Emily and Colin is not in evidence this time around. If you have a particular interest in Florence and its legends, this might be a good choice.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the historical aspect of this book. I now want to visit Florence and see all of the locations mentioned in the book. I was especially drawn to the treasure hunt aspect of the story, where they discover that the palazzo may contain a hidden treasure dating back to the days of the Medici and the violent reign of the fanatic monk, Savonarola.

Oh, and before I forget...there was a murder mystery to solve. I was just more invested in the historical/treasure hunt aspect of the story. I had my suspicions about the murderer, but didn’t figure it out until it was revealed to me in the end.

This is the second book I have read in the Lady Emily series and I feel comfortable with the characters and the format of the books. I liked that the author continued using the dual-timeline format in alternating chapters taking place in 1480 and the early 1900’s.

I enjoyed the well-researched historical parts of this book and I gave it 4/5 stars.

“The Dark Heart of Florence” is the 15th instalment in the Lady Emily Mysteries by Tasha Alexander. First, my disclaimers: I am a long-time Tasha Alexander fan, and have read many of her books. She earns and renews my respect and my following with each new book. I received a copy of this book as an Advanced Reader’s Copy through Netgalley.

“The Dark Heart of Florence” might be the 15th book in the Lady Emily series, but Tasha Alexander has not run out of ideas or stream. All the wonderful aspects of earlier books in the series that attract fans are there in this book—intrigue, history, exotic settings, delightful characters, danger, and fine, fine writing.

This book delves into the tensions between Britain and Germany in 1903 (Alexander’s history appears accurate and reads authentic). Lady Emily’s husband, Colin, is an agent of the crown, which places them both in intriguing spots and in frequent danger throughout the series and also in this book. This novel takes them to Tuscany and they have barely arrived when there is a murder.

While Colin pursues burglaries and the murder in an official role, Lady Emily plows ahead on her own. It is not long before she and her trusted sidekick, Cecile, suspect hidden treasure dating to the Medici are involved in the murder. But Lady Emily ends up in far more danger than she might ever have anticipated.

As usual with a Tasha Alexander book, the pace and the plot are riveting and compelling. But for me, it’s the history and the characters that draw me back again and again. And the writing itself is crystal clear, crisp and a delight to read sentence after sentence.

Tasha Alexander writes one of the most reliably entertaining series in mystery fiction – every book has a complex plot, often a dual timeline, a bit of romance, plus the reader gets to go on some armchair travel and learn a bit of history to boot. In this latest Lady Emily outing, her dishy husband, Colin, takes her to Florence, along with her friend Cecile, for cover, as he works on something so secret for the Crown that he can’t even tell Emily.

It’s 1903 and they’re staying at Colin’s newly discovered daughter, Kat’s, home in Florence, and merely reading the descriptions of Florence will make you long not just for armchair travel but for the real thing. Emily and Cecile are folded into Colin’s work by a circumstance beyond his control – when they arrive at the villa, one of the workers plunges to his death from the top of the villa and is discovered by one of the maids. Emily and Cecile think they can do better winkling out what really happened to him, and of course, they are correct.

Colin and his fellow spy, for want of a better word, are off investigating for much of the narrative, leaving the focus, in this novel, on Emily and Cecile. As they investigate in their own way – talking to shopkeepers, neighbors, and the fiancée of the dead man, they do begin to unearth some clues. There’s also, they are sure, a treasure hidden somewhere in the villa, and one of the clues is the ancient graffiti left on the walls. Emily makes a meticulous catalogue of their locations and begins to translate the Latin phrases she finds.

I love the combination of scholarship and investigation in these books. They are always excellent mysteries, but Alexander’s special twist is Emily’s love of the Classical world, which she draws into her narratives whenever possible. In this book, her interest is sparked by the spectacular Italian renaissance artists who populated Florence in the 15th century, and Savonarola, the man who came along in the late 15th century and tried to burn it all down. (This is where the expression “Bonfire of the Vanities” comes from).

To illustrate the rich culture of Florence in that time period, Alexander also treats the reader to the story of Mina Portinari, whose narrative begins when she is 16, in 1480. We see her through a doomed romance, heartbreak, and a comfortable marriage, with only her passion for learning and scholarship remaining a constant. Mina’s grandfather introduces her to her love of ideas and as a girl she spends time with Botticelli and Lorenzo di Medici.

As the story progresses and the ravages of Savonarola’s destructive thugs cut closer and closer to home, Mina is both engulfed in events and takes steps to change the outcome. Mina’s steps in the past find an echo in Emily’s investigations in 1903. As always, Alexander draws her two threads together in a thoughtful and memorable way, leaving the reader, as always, eager for the next adventure.

While I don't know that I would recommend jumping in and making this your first Lady Emily Mystery like I did, I can say I honestly enjoyed it. I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of this in a giveaway (many thanks!) so this was the main reason why I picked this title up. I had never heard of these mysteries before and in starting it I had no frame of reference for this 15th book in the series.

At first I was just trying to piece together the characters in this series (which I assume most people reading this would already be familiar with) and it was like a puzzle trying to figure out who these characters are and how they all relate to one another. Usually, this frustrates me, but it is a testament to the writing style that I was intrigued if confused. Once I got a handle on everyone, I enjoyed just about everything about this cozy mystery.

If you know me at all, you know I love a good cozy mystery similar in style to the Veronica Speedwell mysteries. These types of cozy mysteries remind me of when I was a kid curling up with a Nancy Drew mystery or even an Agatha Christie. They are fabulous. They make me happy and I love reading them.

The highest praise I can give a mystery is to compare it to Nancy Drew because obviously it has a special place in my heart. Anyway, I had a fun reading this and now I am now very much interested in reading the entire series. It is pretty exciting that there are so many in this series because that means I have lots of lovely, cozy mysteries ahead of me and that makes me happy.

The Dark Heart of Florence by Tasha Alexander (Lady Emily Mysteries #15) 4 stars

Lady Emily is woken from a nap and inadvertently hears a discussion between her husband Colin Hargreaves and his boss, Sir John Burman. There has been a series of burglaries at his daughters palazzo in Florence that may have serious implications for England's security. Sir John, instructs Colin to travel to Florence and use Lady Emily as a convenient cover. On the day of arrival, a body of a freelance agent appears to have been thrown off the roof. After Colin tells her that she cannot directly participate in any investigation, Lady Emily launches a covert effort with her friend Cecile to find the killer and solve the burglaries. The palazzo has a history of hidden treasure that dates back to the 15th century during the influence of Savonarola, the fanatic monk. The question as to who killed the agent and what is the treasure of the palazzo will take all of Emily's skill to answer.

This mystery switches from 1903 to 1480-1497. In 1903, Lady Emily and company are trying to solve the current mystery. From 1480-1497, the story is told from the point of view of Mina Portinari, a wealthy Florentine widow witnessing history which includes the rise and fall of Savonarola. The 15th century account applies since it forms the basis of the legend of the hidden treasure. In between, the more mundane inquiry, there is an undercurrent of international intrigue and betrayal.

I really liked this book, the investigation was interesting and the banter between characters enjoyable. I look forward to the next Lady Emily book.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC

This newest installment of the Lady Emily mystery series takes our heroine, her husband Colin, and her friend Cécile to Florence to investigate a series of break ins at the palazzo of Colin's daughter Kat. These are no ordinary intrusions however, and the investigation uncovers murders, intrigue and treason - all linked to a centuries old treasure hunt.

The mystery alternates between two narratives: Lady Emily's story of 1903 and that of Mina, a young woman living in late 15th century Florence.

Alexander's writing is excellent as usual, and I really enjoyed the dual narratives. Both come together to create an exploration of the themes of love, betrayal and the power of ideas. What is the personal cost of lying and deceit? How do you define treasure? The mystery is intriguing, but for me these questions place this story on a higher level than that of the standard whodunnit. Oh, and the Florentine setting and history is a real bonus.

Tensions are mounting between Germany and England in the buildup to the first World War. Each wants to collect the secrets the other side is holding and the rest of Europe is their hunting ground. After a series of burglaries at his daughter Kat’s palazzo in Florence, Colin Hargreaves is sent by the Crown to investigate those and other mysterious events happening there. Colin is advised to bring his wife, Lady Emily, along to make it appear it is simply a family sightseeing vacation. Little do they know what a tangled web of deceit and betrayal they are about to embark upon.

They hadn’t even had time for their first cup of tea in Florence before the first body made its bloody appearance. As agents of the Crown, Colin and his fellow agent, Darius Benton-Stone, couldn’t share any details of their investigation with the very curious Lady Emily. No problem, since Lady Emily has brought along a friend, Parisian Cecile du Lac, they will just conduct their own investigation. Of course, there is an intriguing possibility of hidden treasure that Emily and Cecile will look into as well. Between investigating murders, hidden treasure, and sightseeing Emily and Cecile are a very busy pair!

As the bodies mount and the separate investigations become more and more entwined, it becomes apparent that the treasure and the murders are connected in some way. Who has the knowledge to carry out such a dastardly plot? Well, you’ll just have to read the tale to see for yourself.

In the last few books of this series, the author has included an additional story from ancient history. That story ties into and/or explains the happenings in the current story. In this one, the story takes place in 1400s Florence. It chronicles the life of Mena Portenari from the time she is sixteen under the de’ Medici rule and then into terror evoking rule of friar Savonarola. It is a sad tale of victimization and heroism, but it does explain parts of the current case.

While the ancient stories are nice, it has become a bit of a trope for this author. It does get a little tiresome jumping from the current mystery to the ancient mystery in each chapter, even though both stories are well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I hope you will as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Dark Heart of Florence is the 15th instalment in the A Lady Emily Mysteries by Tasha Alexander. This is the first book I have read by Tasha Alexander and won’t be my last. I found it to be a quick easy read and finished in one day, I really enjoyed the dual narratives telling us the story of Mina in the late 15th century to lady Emily in the early 20th century in the idyllic setting of Florence, Italy.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters of Lady Emily and Cecile.
I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my mystery lover friends.


I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Minotaur and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Emily and Colin are off to Florence, ostensibly on holiday, but Colin plans to investigate the break-ins at his daughter's villa. And, his real reason for the trip, link up with an English agent to take care of some troubling matters for the Crown. Emily has invited her dear friend Cecile' to keep her company while Colin works. Unfortunately, their first day in Florence finds them with a body in their villa, a possible informant. Naturally, Colin keeps Emily in the dark while encouraging her to investigate on the sly and report her findings to him. This need for secrecy is frustrating to all parties including the reader! Graffiti on the villa walls leads Emily to an older mystery, one of hidden treasure, from the 1480's and 1490's when the Medici's were still in power. Both stories are compelling!

Another amazing addition to the Lady Emily series. I love how we have seen Lady Emily and Collin grow over these books. I liked the story of how Mina's story intertwined with what was going on in 1903 and Lady Emily. Alexander does an amazing job of describing places so that you feel like you are right there with the characters. The added history lesson is also a plus.

I had only read one of the other books in this series but I really enjoy the characters and the adventure. Lady Emily makes a wonderful detective and unlike some books in this genre she isn’t always getting herself into trouble that requires a man to save her. The setting is of course Florence and the author does an excellent job of transporting the reader to both time periods. I enjoyed the back story from the time of the Medici and the impact of Savonarola more than the Lady Emily story, only because it moved faster and had more historical references. Overall this is another great book in this series.

I adore Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily mysteries and this one didn't disappoint. They are very well-researched and give the reader a true sense of the place and time the book is set in. This time, Lady Emily and family are in Florence, visiting a house left to her stepdaughter. The storyline goes back and forth between times in the existence of the house, to tell the story of the people who lived there in the past and to explain the mystery that Lady Emily is trying to help solve.

This was a fun book in the series. The mystery was intriguing and kept me turning the pages. I appreciated the chapters alternating between two different time periods in order to get a fuller story.

The book takes place in Florence and concerns a mystery of hidden treasure with some British spying. I truly love the relationship between Colin and Lady Emily. They are a good marriage of minds and even with the events that happened in the previous book the marriage is strong. The mystery is entertaining. But I loved the way that you got to learn about Florence not just in Lady Emily’s time but in 1400s. The writing brought the city in front of my eyes.
So why didn’t I give it 5 stars. I like the way she weaves the stories from the past to the “present” but it seems there was more past than what Emily was doing. I like the going back and forth but the past is quite depressing most of the times. You know the person described is going to have an ending that you will not like. I would have liked to see more of Emily and Cecile doing their sleuthing. Plus what is wrong with seeing a little bit more of what Colin does? I know the story is told from Emily’s perspective but sometimes I really want to know what he does when he goes off somewhere. How is it that he doesn’t figure things out as quickly as Emily if he has all this experience??
Having said all that, I did enjoy reading this book. I love Emily or Kallista. Her sharp mind and the way she pieces things together are fun to read. There are always multiple things going on that somehow the author figures out a way to tie them together. So give it a read for sure.

A decent entry in the Lady Emily series. Sometimes I feel a little less emphasis needs to be put on the historical facts of a place and more on making it an interesting mystery.