DEATH AND THE DUCHESS OF DIAMONDS: A Jo Bellweather Mystery

A dead man. A washed glass that shouldn't be clean. And four days left before the ship reaches port. Stewardess Jo Bellweather has spent two years learning exactly what first-class passengers want, and exactly what they'd rather she never notice. So when she finds wealthy passenger Reginald Ashworth-Pike dead in his cabin aboard the RMS Calantha, and the ship's surgeon dismisses it as a simple failing heart, Jo knows better. A man does not wash his own whisky glass after he's died in his chair. Marcus Wren has his own secrets. Traveling under a false name, he has spent the crossing watching an elderly countess's jewel case with far more interest than any ordinary passenger should. But a dead man's blackmail, a stolen fortune in diamonds, and a killer still moving freely through first class make it impossible for Jo and Marcus to keep working their separate purposes alone. Together, they have four days to find a murderer before the Calantha reaches Southampton, four days to untangle blackmail, an old jewel theft, and an insurance fraud that never quite happened, and four days to decide whether the growing pull between a stewardess and a man who lied about his own name is worth trusting at all. Death and the Duchess of Diamonds is a slow burn 1920s ocean liner mystery for readers who love atmospheric historical settings, a fair-play whodunit, and a romance that earns every quiet moment between two people who notice far more than anyone gives them credit for. Perfect for fans of Golden Age mysteries, closed room whodunits, and historical romance with real emotional stakes.