Diamonds of Death

Diamonds of Death
Vivian Conroy

‘as delightful as the first book.’ - The Stories of Chantel DacostaThe second Lady Alkmene Callender MysteryA family of secrets…After hearing about the vicious murder of her relation, Lord Winters, Lady Alkmene is intrigued to find out that the cat burglar found standing over his body, the safebox emptied of jewels, might not be the murderer after all…Reporter Jake Dubois believes an innocent man has been imprisoned and turns to Lady Alkmene to assist him in uncovering the truth and finding the real killer – who might just be one of Winters’ own family.This mystery will test Lady Alkmene to the limit. As she and Jake delve into family secrets, Lady Alkmene isn’t sure who she can trust or who is telling the truth. And even the connection between them might not be enough to save Lady Alkmene from becoming the next victim in search of the diamonds of death…Don’t miss the next Lady Alkmene Mystery1. A Proposal to Die For2. Diamonds of Death3. Deadly Treasures4. A Fatal Masquerade

A family of secrets…

After hearing about the vicious murder of her relation, Lord Winters, Lady Alkmene is intrigued to find out that the cat burglar found standing over his body, the safe emptied of jewels, might not be the murderer after all…

Reporter Jake Dubois believes an innocent man has been imprisoned and turns to Lady Alkmene to assist him in uncovering the truth and finding the real killer – who might just be one of Winters’ own family.

This mystery will test Lady Alkmene to the limit. As she and Jake delve into family secrets, Lady Alkmene isn’t sure who she can trust or who is telling the truth. And even the connection between them might not be enough to save Lady Alkmene from becoming the next murdered victim in search of the diamonds of death…

Available from Vivian Conroy (#ulink_6bc57b07-2666-51de-9dc3-2b1aee46c145)

A Lady Alkmene Callender Mystery series

A Proposal to Die For

Diamonds of Death

Deadly Treasures

Diamonds of Death

Vivian Conroy

Copyright (#ulink_29254f5f-abc4-5324-8c21-4f5f10d741d3)

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2016

Copyright © Vivian Conroy 2016

Vivian Conroy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © October 2016 ISBN: 9780008205171

Version date: 2018-06-27

VIVIAN CONROY

discovered Agatha Christie at thirteen and quickly devoured all the Poirot and Miss Marple stories. Over time Lord Peter Wimsey and Brother Cadfael joined her favourite sleuths. Even more fun than reading was thinking up her own fog-filled alleys, missing heirs and priceless artefacts. So Vivian created feisty Lady Alkmene and enigmatic reporter Jake Dubois sleuthing in 1920s’ London and the countryside, first appearing in A Proposal to Die For. For the latest on #LadyAlkmene, with a dash of dogs and chocolate, follow Vivian on Twitter via @VivWrites (http://twitter.com/@VivWrites)

Thanks to all editors, agents and authors who share insights into the writing and publishing process.

A special thanks to my editor Victoria Oundjian for her enthusiasm for Lady Alkmene’s adventures

and to the design team for the lovely cover.

Note (#ulink_62f882c1-9c91-544c-bdd8-90bdd8c874b6)

Writing mysteries set in the 1920s, I’m grateful for all online information – think dress, transportation, etiquette and much more – to ensure an authentic period feel. Still, Lady Alkmene’s world remains fictional, including street addresses, establishments, country houses and even entire villages of my invention.

Contents

Cover (#ufce49682-184e-5b44-8a69-9440c9e1e616)

Blurb (#ue4ea71c8-6199-56c5-b80f-77cadc03aadf)

Book List (#ulink_8b93b3d9-7ad9-56f3-8425-2b67b617977d)

Title Page (#uf9dbe9e1-65cf-5a47-b297-cc5fb91104cd)

Copyright (#u25d1214c-787b-58f1-aa49-4220513c8ef9)

Author Bio (#u60be238e-1b5e-59e0-aa54-4efb8299d9ee)

Acknowledgements (#ubc500540-026d-5210-877b-4372817c1c88)

Note (#ulink_b2d5ecc1-bac0-5a3f-b95f-2212f83a9ea3)

Chapter One (#ulink_7f53e378-9864-5d17-a3da-7ad4f2296742)

Chapter Two (#ulink_830b83c9-ffb3-54cb-b769-738cfcaab8d3)

Chapter Three (#ulink_fea9ac77-9fb2-588e-bfa1-ced00ba5ef2f)

Chapter Four (#ulink_787ad571-865e-50c0-96bc-0d0fdc605b44)

Chapter Five (#ulink_b069c2d3-b90f-5895-8876-c4ff0eb03577)

Chapter Six (#ulink_2ea848f4-448f-53a0-b10d-36f794150515)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)