I really enjoyed this despite it not being my usual type of read. I hadn't read book 1 but this didn't hinder my reading. Set in the 1930s, Miss Atalanta Ashford is approached on holiday in Venice and asked to investigate the suspicious death of a young girl acting as companion to an elderly member of the eminent Bucardi family. Atalanta becomes the new companion and with her handsome racing driver sidekick, they discover more than they'd bargained for. A really enjoyable read with plenty of intrigue. #netgalley #lastseeninSantorini

A fun read with a mystery to solve while also wanting to be on the island. It did give an insight into some of the history which I wasn't aware off along side the who dunnit.

I loved this book so easy to read and I read it in one sitting. I do,love a good cozy mystery and this was on the top of my list. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Last Seen In Santorini by Vivian Conroy is a cozy mystery set in Santorini, Greece in 1930. Atalanta Ashford is a young woman who has recently come into an inheritance from her deceased grandfather. The only proviso is that she investigate things and help people who need it, as he had done. She was not at all prepared for this but seemed to have a natural talent for it. She had already solved one murder and was now taking a short leave before she moved on. As she walked around Murano, trying to pick a piece of glass to purchase, she noticed a man watching her. It looked for all the world like Raoul, the extremely handsome race car driver who had helped with her last case. All at once she was approached by a woman all in black, including a veil, who needed help to find out how her daughter had died. She’d been told it was an accident, but she was not sure. After this exchange, Raoul approached, out of concern. He had seen the entire thing and wanted to know what the woman had said to Atalanta. He was concerned for her safety. He promised her he would find her in Santorini and help investigate, so off she went.

This is an enticing time period, and Venetians in Santorini were the rich and famous in their heyday. The family she was to work for fit into that category. The lifestyle was decadent and the scenery beautiful. What more did she need? The people, at least some of them, were entitled, some just crazy. Atalanta found herself in the middle of a situation with no way out. The sorry thing was the four-year-old boy who was part of this dysfunctional family. The characters were good and the mystery decent, although so sad. The entire book was Atalanta coming up with different possible scenarios with every little clue she found. It did get kind of old, although I suppose, accurate. Everything did turn out well in the end. Isn’t that why we read cozy mysteries?

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Last Seen in Santorini by Harper Collins UK-One More Chapter, through Netgalley. All thoughts an opinions are mine. #Netgalley #OneMoreChapter #VivianConroy #LastSeenInSantorini

What starts off quite well with hope of an exciting mystery , sadly drags for many chapters until the final few hence why I could only give three stars as my rating . #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #FB, #Instagram,#Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

Atalanta Ashford recently inherited her grandfather's detective business along with some money. For the first time in her life she is free to do as she pleases and has decided to take a vacation. While visiting a small island she is approached by a woman who once knew her grandfather. She implores Atalanta to look into the death of a lady's companion on the nearby island of Santorini. Will Atalanta discover the culprit or will she be the next victim?

I've read several books by Vivian Conroy but I somehow missed that she had a new series. Last Seen in Santorini is book 2 in the Miss Ashford Investigates mystery series.

It was an enjoyable read but I can't say it is my favorite book by her (that would be the Merriweather and Royston series).

I'm not sure I liked the characters. Not having read the first book, I couldn't get a good read on Raoul the race car driver that Atalanta met in book 1. She is besotten with him but he seems to only want friendship. He is quite closed off and the fact that he had a history with the family involved in the mystery made it difficult to figure out his motives. But even Atalanta just kind of rubbed me wrong. She talks to herself a lot and I'm not a big fan of that in books. She also seems kind of young.

The mystery was pretty good though I had figured out most of it before the characters in the book.

I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had connected better with Atalanta. I don't feel like I really got to know her. I didn't realize until about halfway through the book that she hadn't ever met her grandfather. She made comments early on about what his opinion of her would be and other thoughts on her grandfather that made me think she knew him. I would have liked greater character development as she feels very superficial.

I might try another book in this series to see if there is more character development. But it was pretty easy to jump in with this book as it is still early in the series.

My review is published at Girl Who Reads - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/01/last-seen-in-santorini-by-vivian-conroy.html

I loved the start of this book. A veiled woman approaches Atalanta about a murder that is played off as an accident, and she becomes embroiled in a much larger mystery in Santorini involving pride, guilt, family, deception, etc. Part of what added to the mystery was that no one is who they appear to be at first glance.

I really enjoyed the red herrings and misdirection, and I loved the idea of the location. I wish there had been more about the island itself, and I feel like tensions between Raoul and Atalanta slowed the book down at times as a lot got rehashed. Overall, it was a charming cozy mystery with many twists and turns.

Though this can be read as a stand alone, I feel that I missed some of the relationship background between Atalanta and Raoul.

Thanks to #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK and #OneMoreChapter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a mystery set in the 1930s and was probably more Mary Stewart than Agatha Christie, I have recently been reading many of the British Library Crime Classics which were also written in the 1930s. They like "Last Seen in Santorini" often recap where the investigation has got to but it is not as heavy handed as in this book. I felt the internal conflict of the main investigator was aired too much and for too long. Apart from this the characters and scenery are well described. The plot is complex with a few red herrings. It is a good story but it was not a compulsive read for me.

I am enjoying getting to know amateur sleuth Atalanta Ashford. The story begins in Venice and progresses to Santorini, where the characters and events are often dark and disturbing. While this story has a classic mystery style and a cosy-crime vibe, it has an intensity that draws the reader in and keeps them guessing until the dramatic conclusion. Atmospheric and detailed, this is gently paced, but that is part of its charm, and at the end of it, the reader is both invested in the characters and knowledgable about the setting as well as involved in guessing whodunnit and what did they do.

This 1930s historic, cosy mystery is an engaging and enjoyable story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Miss Atalanta Ashford is sightseeing near Venice when a mysterious veiled lady approaches her and asks to look into her daughter's death. The girl was just nineteen when she left home to work as a companion for an elderly Bucardi family in the idyllic Greek island of Santorini. She fell off the cliffs and died. Though her death was claimed to be an accident, the mother believes her daughter was murdered.

As Atalanta reaches Santorini and starts working as a companion to an elderly aunt of the Bucardi family, she realizes her client wasn't true to her. A local island festivities brings joy and a murder, making Atalanta wonder if someone in the Bucardi family or their employees is guilty.

I was hooked on to the story and could not put it down until the end. This perfectly paced murder mystery set in a scenic Greek Island has made it to my favorites list. I loved the setting, characters, and the series-plot. Atalanta might be new at sleuthing but she's quite skilled. Her ability to blend in makes her an excellent sleuth. Not to forget, handsome Raoul plays a significant role in this story.

The second half of the book is where things get suspenseful - edge of the seat, like. Multiple twists and shocking discoveries (some of which were Atalanta's wildest imaginations *wink wink*) kept me guessing till the end. The ending, my god, is simply mind-blowing. I never saw the final twist coming - I was so sure this person when we have a jaw-dropping revelation!! Maybe I must ditch my amateur sleuth hat while reading Viv's books.

Absolutely fantastic storytelling (It's Viv!!!) I don't know why but the setting and the storytelling were giving this books a historical/rustic/laid-back mystery vibe - making this a charming and engrossing read.

Highly recommended!

Last Seen in Santorini is my first encounter with Atalanta Ashford. She is an interesting sleuth who both jumps to conclusions and keeps an open mind.
Venice is well described and a great beginning to the story. Santorini remains less clear for the arm chair traveler as a place of stairs and cliffs. I’m not sure if the haziness of Santorini as a setting is due to a historical setting with landmarks that no longer exist or if there is another reason.
The pacing is rather slow, which felt odd since the timeline from start to finish once Atalanta arrives in Santorini is about a week. It seemed like the story should have moved more quickly.
The story was a pretty dramatic and gothic for a tale set in the 1930s. The Bucardi’s were a classic family for a gothic tale. I like the mystery but could see parts of it coming and was just waiting for them to play out.
I admit to skimming parts of the book because I was impatient for resolution. I may not be the best audience for drawn out historical dramatic mysteries.
It’s a good story. It may delight you and be just the right speed for your race….Raoul is a dashing sidekick.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Sigh.

I had so much hope for this series. I loved the first book - found it fresh and interesting with a whole new way to introduce the MC and the mystery was good as well. I should have known from my previous experience with this author that a second book was not going to be nearly as charming as the first book and unfortunately, I was correct.

This book was a hot mess. SO. MUCH. REPETITION. It truly seemed that every other chapter was nothing but the same information over and over again [in the guise of Atalanta running over things in her head; over and over and over and over....], just in vaguely disguised different ways but always the same information. It got very tedious very quickly. As did the MC doing truly stupid things; she'd ruminate [over and over...] about how she needed to NOT do something, or NOT go somewhere etc etc and then TURN AROUND and do the complete opposite and then wonder WHY bad things were happening. Really??

This could have been a really good read with a little more editing and a little less repetition. Atalanta is not a bad MC and I can see her growing into her new role as detective and helper of persons in distress, but not the way she is being written now. The hand-wringing and the constant rehashing is tedious and really needs to be retooled. I know there are at least two more books on the horizon and I am just not sure I want to even begin thinking about reading them. I guess we shall see when the time comes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vivian Conroy, and HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This time Atlanta has stepped into a nest of vipers!

Approached by a heavily veiled woman in Venice, Atlanta Ashford cuts short her holiday to go to the Greek of Santorini, to try to discover if the death of the woman’s daughter Letitia, was an accident or murder.
(Atlanta has just lately, and out of the blue, inherited her unknown dead grandfather’s houses, stocks, cars and fortune. A wealth that enables her to travel the world. She also inherits his mission to “sleuth discreetly in the highest circles.”)
Raoul Lemont, the racing car driver she’d previously met in Provence, turns up in Santorini. Atlanta thought she’d spied him in Venice as well.
The Island stronghold of the Bucardi family turns out to be a bed of intrigue, rumors and strange behaviors.
Supposedly Atlanta is a companion to Pietro Bucardi’s elderly aunt, Delilah. A strange woman, at one moment fragile, the next tyrannical.
When the Nanny disappears Atlanta finds herself stepping into those shoes.
Mystery and danger! Who is to be believed? Who had a motive to kill ? Where does Raoul fit in?
So many questions and seeing to the heart of the matter is no easy task as red herrings are strewn across Atlanta’s path willy nilly.

A HarperCollins One More Chapter ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

Another series I'm beginning with the second book, this time from a favourite author!

Atalanta Ashford is sightseeing in Venice when she is approached by a lady dressed all in black and wearing a veil; she is eager to ask Atalanta to investigate the sudden death of her daughter on the Greek island of Santorini. While working for the Bucardi family, the young woman fell from the cliffs to her death but her mother isn't convinced that it was an accident. As Atalanta travels by ship to the island to begin working undercover for the family as a companion, she's not quite sure about it all. Someone is watching her and she knows she will have to keep her wits about her not to let the beautiful views of the azure sea distract her.

I have always enjoyed Vivian Conroy's mystery novels but it took me a while longer than usual to get into this one - I suspect because I missed the first in series. However, this is an enthralling mystery with a wide range of characters and, as the reader wasn't privy to what really happened, I felt as if I was investigating too. Who to trust? Everyone and no-one! With a fine cast of characters, this is a novel completely focused on finding out what happened to the previous employee - and there are plenty of possibilities. I never felt I knew any more than the protagonist but she made more sense of it all than I did! Four stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Santorini 1930

I have fallen in love with historical mysteries (Ok, I am obsessed!) and when I saw this title, I was anxious to read the story.

Atalanta is new to her investigative skills, but after solving one case, she is happy to be on to the next!
This one will take all her skill and then some to solve, especially with another murder occurring!

Descriptive scenes bring you into the setting and make you want to be there. Interesting characters and a few red herrings make this an excellent tale that only makes me want to read more!

Miss Atalanta Ashford is sightseeing near Venice when a mysterious veiled lady approaches her with the urgent request to look into her daughter's mysterious death on the idyllic Greek island of Santorini. Whilst working as a companion for the eminent Bucardi family, the unfortunate girl took a plunge from the dramatic cliffs during a walk alone. Sailing to Santorini and going undercover as the new companion, Atalanta soon discovers that her client hasn't told her the full truth. Someone is watching her. Now she must unravel the mystery and prevent the breathtaking azure sea views from becoming the last she too will ever see
The second book in the series & it’s easily read on its own. A well written book with strong characters & lovely descriptions. There are of course red herrings plus twists & turns. The story is well plotted & I found myself engrossed & trying to work out who the villain was. I look forward to reading more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I chose this book to read on the basis of the synopsis and the absolutely beautiful cover which reminds of old time railway advertisements. Atalanta is on holiday in Venice when she is approached by a mysterious woman in black who asks her to investigate her daughter's death in Santorini where she was working for an old Venetian family. This is the second book in a series and the author does refer quite heavily to the previous novel, but it is not a prerequisite to have read it.
The setting in the story is interesting and detailed and the characters are all different and striking. The mystery is also satisfyingly twisty.
So, why only two stars? Because of the style of telling. Atalanta goes over everything in her head and questions the possibles endlessly. Every paragraph is laced with questions marks and it slows down the action and the interactions no end. Moreover it stops the read working things out for themselves. I don't always want to be told that is could have been this person or that person. I want to work it out for myself. By the end of the book I was so annoyed with the style of writing that I wanted to take a red pen and cross out the endless questions.
So while the book ticked all the boxes in the type of story I like to read, I'm afraid this one was not for me.
With thanks to One More Chapter, Harper Collins and Netgalley for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Although book 2 in this series, it easily reads as a stand alone as I haven't read the first one yet! Set on Santorini in the 1930's, we are given Atalanta Ashford, who now works as an investigator having inherited some wealth from her grandfather.
It is a slow burner to begin with with lots of twists and turns and reflects that period of time very well with lots of great descriptive writing so as the reader, you can envisage yourself there.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Last Seen in Santorini by Vivian Conroy is the second book in the Miss Ashford Investigates cozy historical mystery series. Atalanta Ashford has recently inherited her grandfather’s wealth and his occupation as a detective for the wealthy and famous. While on holiday in Venice, Italy, she is approached in Murano by a woman wearing a veil. Atalanta is asked to investigate her daughter Letitia’s death. Letitia had been working on the Greek island of Santorini as a companion to Delilah Bucardi. Atalanta takes over as the companion and starts her investigation with some help from racecar driver Raoul Lemont.

Atalanta is a likeable character, but tended to rehash questions repeatedly. She is rational, inquisitive, analytical, wants to travel, and doesn’t enjoy crowds. Raoul is impulsive, irreverent, adventurous, and a risk-taker. The secondary characters are well defined and easy to visualize.

While the location of Santorini is beautiful, readers only get occasional glimpses of anything outside of the Bucardi family’s home. I wanted to experience more of the island. Additionally, while the novel is set in 1930, there isn’t much of a historical feel to it. Despite these quibbles, the premise is excellent and the story line kept me engaged. The plot has several twists as Atalanta sorts through the lies, questions, and deceptions. Themes include death, guilt, family loyalty, friendship, betrayal, and much more.

Overall, this entertaining novel brings out the inner sleuth in readers as they try to solve the mystery along with Atalanta. This novel works as a standalone novel, but readers will get more background if they start with book one. I am looking forward to finding out her Atalanta’s next case will take her.

HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter and Vivian Conroy provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for January 06, 2023.

This is a book that is entertaining, but a bit long-winded with descriptions that are not need which for me made the book a little bit boring. But the story itself was good and as I said entertaining.

The characters fulfill the brief with Atlanta being my favourite. It is a good cosy with the mystery you want, twist and turns that keep it interesting and characters and scenery that make it real. But again, the wordiness of the story is what made me give it 3 1/2 stars.

I haven't read the first installment in the series but feel that had no affect on this book and would consider it fine as a stand-alone novel.