by Michael Pearce
Naples in 1913 is a beautiful, busy, crowded city. Italy is at war in Libya, and one of the army's staging camps is located right outside town. All Italy is excited by the advent of the bicycle, the new racing machine which can only offer new delights to a population already enthralled by the mysteries of the lottery. When a young English consul and bicyclist is murdered, the British Foreign Office calls again on Sandor Seymour to investigate--an investigation that also makes a sunny vacation from London's cold climate for Seymour's Moroccan fiancee Chantale. Together they consider the likely suspects--from an opera diva with ties to the local foundling hospital to a collection of local characters with their own reasons to want the Englishman removed. And in Naples, one can never discount the Camorra, the secret local version of Sicily's Mafia. Managing a large cast of characters with his trademark subtle dialog, author Michael Pearce, tells the tale of another Seymour investigation that reveals more than meets the eye. This mystery in a sunny setting will warm a reader's winter night.
Bill McCully, Administration
Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl from the hills of Nepal. Her family is very poor and dependent on a step father who gambles the little money they have in the tea houses. Life goes from bad to worse when Lakshmi is told by her step father that she must leave home and get a job to help support the family.