Scattered Legacy: Murder in Southern Italy

Annalisse Series, #3

by

MARLENE M. BELL

Genre: Mystery / Romance

Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing

Date of Publication: November 4, 2021

Number of Pages: 352 pages

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To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, high adventure, and the occasional dead body.

When Alec schedules a getaway trip to show Annalisse his mother’s Italian birthplace, he squeezes in the high-stakes business of divesting his family’s corporation. But things go terribly wrong as murder makes its familiar reappearance in their lives – and this time it’s Alec’s disgraced former CFO who’s the main suspect.

Accompanied by friend and detective Bill Drake, Annalisse and Alec find themselves embroiled in a behind-closed-doors conspiracy that threatens the reputation and legacy of Alec’s late father – linking him to embezzlement, extortion, and the dirty business of the Sicilian Mafia. The key to it all might be a gifted set of rosary beads where Annalisse can use her skills for appraising artifacts to uncover the truth. She leads Alec toward answers that are unthinkable—and events that will change their futures forever.

Scattered Legacy is the third in Marlene M. Bell’s thrilling Annalisse series, which weaves romance, crime, and historical mystery into addictive tales to instantly captivate fans of TV show Bones or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

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Murder, the Mafia, and Mayhem…that is what you can expect from this new novel in the Annalisse series from Marlene Bell. It is set in the picturesque country of Italy and I loved the descriptions of the towns and the sights. It is almost like being there myself…maybe someday.

Annalisse and Alec are planning a trip to Italy to relax and see some of his mother’s homeland. However, things don’t go quite as planned and they are dragged into helping solve a murder, determining if a past employee embezzled from the company, and uncovering the truth about an ancient rosary. I always enjoy following the research that characters do to uncover information about what is happening on their journey. In this case, it is researching Alec’s mother’s, Generosa, past. I know how it can be to go down a rabbit hole searching for your family ties. But this journey and research are not without some dangerous moments for Annalisse and Alec. There were some “heart in my throat” moments during some events wondering how it was going to turn out for this duo.

There are multiple storylines happening in this book and it kept me engaged as I tried to figure out how they were going to all tie together in the end. There are some surprises that I didn’t expect but maybe should have with some clues that were dropped earlier in the story. There is even a cat, Stella, that is a part of this picture and since both Annalisse and Alec are animal lovers, it isn’t surprising that they have a soft heart when it comes to her. I always enjoy Bill Drake’s involvement in their cases and this book is no different. He is smart and knows how to get the job done.

Annalisse and Alec have a strong relationship, but I feel like they both still keep secrets from each other. I can’t blame Annalisse for not taking their relationship further at this point; there are too many secrets still in play. She also tends to run from situations versus staying and waiting for the answer. While she might have some past issues that cause her to react this way, nothing is to be gained by running and not facing the truth. Perhaps she will learn how to stay and face the unknown because that is how you move a relationship to the next level.

The story is action-packed from the beginning to the end and what a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting more from the next book in this series. It will also give you a peek into a world that many of us can only imagine, the lives of the rich, famous, and powerful.  If you decide to pick up this book, make sure to read the first two books in this series. It will make a lot more sense when there are references to past events and other characters.

We give this book 4 paws up.

Marlene M. Bell is an acclaimed artist and photographer as well as a writer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of publications such as, Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News. Ewephoric, her mail order venture, began in 1985 out of a desire for realistic sheep stationery. A color catalog of non-fiction books and sheep-related gifts may be requested on her website, Texas Sheep.

Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside on a wooded ranch in beautiful East Texas with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large and lovable Maremma guard dog named Tia, and Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats who believe they rule the household — and do.

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

 THREE WINNERS (US ONLY):

1st SUPER GRAND PRIZE ($425 VALUE):

Patricia Nash leather bag; Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Puglia Region of Italy;

Orecchiette Pasta from the Puglia Region; Weekly 2022 Engagement Spiral Calendar;

Silver/Gold Italy Coin necklace on 18” silver chain;

an autographed copy of Scattered Legacy; $50 VISA gift card.

2ND PRIZE & 3rd PRIZE – Signed copies of Scattered Legacy.

(US only; ends midnight, CST, 12/10/21)

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