Emma races off to Italy, only to become enmeshed in a fiendish plot involving pirated viruses, large amounts of money, and unscrupulous businessmen. Naturally the nobility and a secret agent get involved, both embodied in the dashing Lord Andrew Rodale, Emma’s divinely passionate lover from the previous book. A member of Vanessa’s staff is killed; she blames herself, and allows Aunt Emma to take her back to Boston on the understanding that Sardinia is the next stop.

Upon arrival in Boston, Vanessa succumbs to a mysterious life-threatening virus. Thank goodness Aunt Emma has enough money to buy her the very best of care.  Medical science is baffled, and Emma is quarantined in her own apartment. A handsome research physician, somehow exempt from the quarantine, stops by every evening to give her regular updates on Vanessa’s condition and have a glass of wine. Could this be a new man in Emma’s life?

Emma is released from quarantine only to be summoned to England by Lord Rodale, whose boss, the mysterious Colonel, wants to talk with her in person; apparently no phone in Boston is secure enough. Dalliance with Lord Rodale hits rocky shoals and Emma returns to Boston.  Someone, somewhere, is up to no good; Emma’s apartment is no longer safe, and the poor woman is forced to flee to a suite in the best hotel in Boston.

Yet another of Vanessa’s employees is murdered, and Emma’s anger and sorrow lead to her deeper involvement in the mystery. She charges off to Ireland to act as a tethered goat, hoping to lure the tigers out of hiding.

Overkill is, on several levels, just that. The plot is melodramatic, the heroine has far more money than sense, and the police are unrealistic. I found the characters difficult to relate to; ostentatious wealth is off-putting, and name-dropping of fashion wear is simply a bore. Is Emma dense or just completely jet-lagged from all that ocean-hopping?

That said, I confess I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Fast-paced and entertaining, it kept my interest, even while Emma was at her most aggravating. Just as I decided that I had nothing in common with Emma, she stated a desire to have a hot shower, put on her blue bathrobe, make scrambled eggs, and watch a Jane Austen DVD: human after all. This would be a fine book to take to bed with a cold; it’s diverting, unchallenging, and a fast read.

--Nancy McIntyre