A friend of Samantha’s, Martine, calls to tell Sam something is afoot in her French Riviera neighborhood. “Come quick!” she pleads. Sam had just finished writing her latest mystery novel and her schedule was clear. Why not visit and help her friend out? So Sam rents the villa next door to find out exactly what is going on. The two-story stone French villa built in the 1950s has rambling, mysterious gardens and pathways, which come with an intriguing past that soon plays into the mystery. “Suspense, adventure, and, or course, humor ensue in a way that only Edelheit can write.”

Sam becomes swept up in villa’s history, misdirection, hostility, threats, and secrecy, including a French gardener, a cat lady, and the house of red light across the way. “Sam is likable, smart, tenacious, funny as heck, and relatable, easily one of my favorite protagonists in a long time.”

But who is telling her the truth and who isn’t? To figure it all out, Sam must untangle an intricate web of lies, ignore the hostility, and begin digging up those buried secrets herself. “The dialogue is one of the most riveting parts of Edelheit’s writing style, as is her penchant for ending chapters on a cliffhanger...which will certainly keeps you turning the pages.”

By digging into everyone’s past, including Martine’s, Sam is quickly challenged at every turn and discovers retaliation plays into everything, including her own safety. “The humor Peggy throws into her stories is one of the best parts. It always adds such a light tone to the story, regardless of how intense the mystery is. I found myself at the edge of my seat in suspense, laughing, and gasping in surprise.”

So how does Sam solve this when she barely speaks French? With humor, of course! “I love how the pieces of the puzzle fall together just giving enough clues without ever giving the murderer away until the very end. Peggy has clearly done it again in this remarkable page-turner thriller that can’t be put down.”