Last Seen in Santorini by Vivian Conroy is the second book in the Miss Ashford Investigates cozy mystery series.
Title: Last Seen in Santorini
Author: Vivian Conroy
Series: Miss Ashford Investigates Book 2
First Published: January 6, 2023
Publisher: One More Chapter
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
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. But is all as it seems?
Sailing to Santorini and going undercover as the new companion, Miss Ashford 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…
Atalanta is back in a beautiful new locale
Fresh from her adventure in Provence, Atalanta is off on another case as she goes undercover to determine if a companion’s death was an accident or murder. I love the setup of Atalanta being independently wealthy because this allows her a lot of leeway. At the start of this book, she’s enjoying her newfound wealth by travelling to places she’s always only dreamed about.
But of course, vacations in murder mystery books never turn out and this one gets derailed pretty quickly when a veiled woman follows and then begs Atalanta for help.
Even though the request is shrouded in vagueness and mystery, Atalanta can’t help but agree to look into things for the grieving mother. She travels to the beautiful Santorini and lands in the middle of a very tense and secretive family.
The dynamics between all the characters is filled with tension, hidden secrets, and explosive tempers. It makes for a very difficult case, as no one really trusts Atalanta, and she’s not even sure a murder has occurred.
The series continues to deliver
This sequel is even more enjoyable than the first book, Mystery in Provence (you can read my review of that book here), as I found Atalanta has gotten a bit more comfortable in her role as a detective, but she’s still not over-confident and there are enough mixed signals and hidden secrets in Santorini to keep her more than occupied.
The rakish Raoul makes another appearance and he’s even more mysterious in this story than in the last adventure, although he does start to share some of his background with Atalanta. I totally thought his story was headed in one direction but then it went off in a completely different one, so, while I still think he may eventually end up with Atalanta, I think there’s a lot of work to be done before they get there.
I really enjoyed the twists and turns and trying to figure out who was telling the truth and who had something to hide. Plus the gorgeous backdrop of Santorini added a lot of beauty and charm to the story. Another great mystery with Miss Ashford – I’m looking forward to the next one!
Quote from Last Seen in Santorini
