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When violinist Sebastian Vane abandons a sold-out Royal Albert Hall performance thirty-eight bars in and walks off with a twenty-million-pound Stradivarius named Lady Aurelia, London society calls it a celebrity breakdown. Nell Ainsworth, ninth Duchess of Belward, calls it a plot hole. The only one who is not baffled is a German Shepherd named Roger, who is technically not supposed to be there.

Now Nell and Roger must follow a trail that began in Cremona in 1698, through a glittering Belgravia townhouse, a Bermondsey warehouse at midnight, an exclusive bridal salon, and a series of beautifully mannered letters arriving at Nell’s own front door—each one more polite, and less friendly, than the last—all the way to an Oxfordshire lunch party where the guest list includes armed men in the delphiniums.

Investigating alongside Nell, in his official capacity as her valet and his unofficial capacity as everything else, is Henry Templeton, lately reinstated to a certain building on the Thames. Between them stands an engagement scheduled for three years hence, an arrangement both parties agreed was sensible and neither believes for a minute. Also in residence is a stray named Claude, of no known breed and no visible courage, whose interests include doorbells, herring, and the contents of other people's handbags.

The second Nell Ainsworth mystery is a sparkling blend of golden-age puzzle and screwball romance: Agatha Christie’s plotting with Nora Ephron’s nerve, for readers who like their country-house intrigue with gunshots and Camorra bosses, their love stories conducted via surveillance log, and more dogs than anyone knows what to do with. Begin with The Roses of Ainsworth Manor, or start here—the door is almost always open.

The Vanishing Violinist is book two in the Nell Ainsworth mystery series by Nina Gates

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