The delightfully irreverent eldest daughter of the not-so-ill-fated Romeo and Juliet returns to sleuth another day in fair Verona, in this hugely entertaining historical mystery series with a refreshingly bold premise.
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โWoe, for I am the bug that meets the windshield's might,
No longer the speeding glass, smooth, clean and bright โฆโ
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Youโre right. I, Rosie Montague of Verona, am lousy at iambic pentameter and Shakespeare speak, but you get the point: Sometimes youโre the windshield and sometimes youโre the bug. I, who for my whole life, have cruised along, unruffled by lifeโs trials, am suddenly smashed flat and speeding recklessly up the WhattheHellHappened Highway.ย
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Why? you ask โฆ
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Iโm 20 years old and by my own design, never been wed, free as no married woman ever is. Iโm beautiful, but without conceit, for Juliet, my legendary Mamma is the most gorgeous creature to ever walk the earth. Just ask Romeo, my legendary Papร . (Rumors of their deaths were premature.) I was heartwhole until I fell (literally) in love with Lysander of the House of Beautiful. But our love was not to be, for I was thwarted by Escalus, the Prince of Verona โฆ who had designs onย me.ย
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Iโm trapped.ย
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Then! Iโm presented with a solution. Escalusโs father, Prince Escalus the Elder, appears to me. He tasks that I find his killer. Did I mention Elder is a ghost?
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Given that I only recently dispatched Veronaโs first serial killer, Iโm less than pleased. Yet Elder promises to unite me with my One True Love, so I gather clues. Meanwhile, revolution threatens, for beneath Verona societyโs glittering surface lurk dark shadowsโand an enemy eager to make me a tragic heroine in my ownย right โฆ