Digging Into Death - Into Death

Has the love of her life enticed her straight into death?

Stranded on Crete, Isabella Newcombe finesses a refuge with English archaeologists resuming their dig after WWI.  Her sketches fortuitously land her a job illustrating the dig for Prof. Gawen Tarrant.  His magnetic brother Madoc charms her with his interest.

The dig seethes with undercurrents, revealed when a worker is murdered.  The archaeologists dismiss his death as a village vendetta.  Then the dig sites are vandalized.  Artifacts go missing.  And Isabella's former employer may be involved in buying stolen artifacts.  With evidence amassing, they must admit the worker was killed when he spied something incriminating—but what?  And who murdered him?

Suspicions escalate.  All three professors have motives beyond simple profit.  Are the Tarrant brothers stealing to fund more digs?  Is Nigel Arkwright undermining the dig as revenge for Gawen's flirtation with Nigel's wife?  Is Monty Standings damaging Gawen's reputation?  Even the archaeological students could be involved, for their own profit or to assist a professor.

Falling in love with Madoc, Isabella doesn't know who to trust.  Then one of the students is murdered while his photographic archive is destroyed.  With her illustrations as the only record of the artifacts, Isabella belatedly recognizes the dangers of Digging into Death.

Digging into Death is the first book in the Into Death series featuring Isabella Newcombe.