Requiem for a Mezzo (Paperback)

Writing for Town & Country, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple finds that being a daughter of a viscount opens doors for her in the grand houses of 1920s England--a setting Carola Dunn evokes with delicious detail. Behind those doors, Daisy also tends to find mysteries that need to be unraveled, to the consternation of dashing detective Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard. Daisy is taking in a performance of Verdi's Requiem featuring the celebrated Bettina Westlea (coincidentally, her neighbor Muriel's sister), when the soprano collapses onstage. Notoriously high-strung, the poisoned diva had her share of enemies in the cast, as well as a marriage with her vocal coach that could politely be called "turbulent."