A FATAL FLOURISH

Gilded Age diva Ella Shane is back for her most dangerous adventure ever, arriving home from a tour in February 1901 to find her unpleasant elder stepson is in town – and charged with murder in a bar fight. Soon after, Ella’s beloved physician, Dr. Edith Silver, is arrested for obscenity by a publicity-mad Assistant Police Commissioner. Now, Ella, facing her own life-changing news, is forced to unravel two nefarious plots, with help from her colorful family and friends on both sides of the law. With the series’ signature combination of rollicking fun and sharp social commentary, Ella tracks a killer, fights ignorance and prejudice, and ultimately finds herself in another catwalk duel with a villain. And this time, the stakes are the highest she’s ever faced.

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"With stakes as high as a soprano’s final note, A Fatal Flourish delivers an utterly engaging mystery full of action and heart, all set against the vivid wealth and poverty of New York City’s Gilded Age. Author Kathleen Marple Kalb conjures the era with atmospheric precision, building a world as dazzling and dangerous as the stage upon which her amateur sleuth stands. And Ella Shane, celebrated opera diva and wife to a duke, is a heroine whose wit and courage make her impossible to forget. She’s the 'ride or die' friend we all wish we had."

~ Mally Becker, award-winning author of the Revolutionary War Mysteries

"It began with the death of a queen, and ended with the demise of a villain… And just like that, in a mere half-sentence, the reader is drawn into Kathleen Marple Kalb’s latest mystery, A Fatal Flourish. This entertaining narrative cleverly balances multiple worlds and plot threads in turn-of-the-century New York City, and when the characters who people those worlds collide—as they inevitably do—sparks fly. Ella Shane, who occupies center stage in each of these worlds, is a literal embodiment of the contradictions that power the story. Of Irish-Jewish parentage, she becomes a successful opera singer. Now the wife of the Duke of Leith, this newly minted Duchess’s first complication is familial: Her arrogant stepson, who cannot accept Ella’s ascension to the aristocracy, is accused of murder. At this point, it feels appropriate to instruct readers to fasten their seatbelts. A twisting ride ensues, with political, personal, and professional conflicts that all come together for a most satisfying conclusion. A 2026 must-read for fans of historical fiction and character-driven mysteries."

~ Lori Robbins, Amazon bestselling author of the On Pointe and Master Class Mysteries