The Todes are heading to Italy – and taking murder and mayhem with them.

Close to Rome, set among ancient ruins and freshwater springs, languishes the magnificent Villa Rospo, a jewel in the Tode family portfolio, and one they had virtually forgotten – until Sir Ecgbert and Alice decide it’s the perfect place for their honeymoon. Now suddenly everyone wants a piece.

Sir Ecgbert’s brother Esmé sees it as an opportunity to restore his lost fortunes by turning it into a luxury eco wellness hub. His business partner Charlie Tysedale only wants it to escape from his dreaded bestselling-author wife. India Tode sees in it the ideal holiday home, while Sir Ecgbert envisages a yoga retreat. Professional freeloader and everyone’s old school chum, Piers Slayer-Wilson-Tite, has his eye on making it his personal love-nest. Meanwhile, some of the locals have excellent reasons for keeping it just the way it is.

When the body of Piers’s wife, Elizabetta, is discovered floating among grapefruits in the spring at the bottom of Villa Rospo’s famous gardens, there’s only one thing everyone agrees on . . . that there’s absolutely no need to call the police.

Praise for the Tode Hall series:

‘Imagine Agatha Christie on laughing gas’ The Times

‘Sharp, funny . . . the best sort of murder mystery’ Tatler

‘A perfect antidote to all the real-life craziness going on’ Daily Mail

‘I couldn’t put it down’ Santa Montefiore

‘Deliciously entertaining’ Andrew Wilson

‘An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter’ Rachel Johnson

‘A perfect antidote to wintry gloom’ The Literary Review

‘What a triumph!’ Antonia Fraser

‘A masterclass in how to write a rollicking good read’ Sarah Vine

‘A jolly farce that never takes itself too seriously’ Red Magazine

‘Fizzles, crackles and sparkles’ Elizabeth Buchan

‘A work of sublime silliness’ Simon Brett

‘An effervescent madcap whodunnit’ Metro

‘A marvellous rollicking read’ Mary Killen

‘She’s skewered her targets brilliantly’ Imogen Edwards-Jones