Lucy Goes Forth!

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Lucy Goes Forth!

I am delighted to announce that today is publication day for A Pocketful of Diamonds, Book 4 in the Lucy Lawrence Mystery Series.

A missing count, stolen diamonds, a mystery that needs solving on the glamorous shores of Lake Como…

I’m often asked about the inspiration for my books. For the fourth book in the Lucy Lawrence series, that is very easy to answer: the location. My first visit to Lake Como, Italy, was back in 2008 as part of a holiday in the area. I fell in love with the location instantly, so much so, in fact, I have been back there for holidays several times now. However, back in 2008, I wasn’t writing books, but the magnificent scenery and ambiance stayed with me.

Lake Como, 2008

Lucy has had many adventures since No Stone Unturned, the first book in the series, and it is fun to use different locations for the books. This was even more important for the second book, Footprints in the Sand, which was set in Victorian Egypt, helping to satisfy my love and interest in Ancient Egypt and Victorian era tourism. For the third book, The Art of Deception, Lucy gets to visit Edinburgh, another favourite place of mine. But when it came to a location for A Pocketful of Diamonds, I knew it had to be Italy and it had to be Como.

Way back when only the wealthy travelled for pleasure, Italy was a must-go-to for The Grand Tour. With the industrial revolution came wealth, the railways and the birth of mass tourism. The Victorians loved travel and in the latter part of the 19th century, Lake Como and all the Italian lakes were particular favourites. September was the most popular time, when the intense heat had subsided. The rich Milanese owned villas on the lake with private jetties snaking out into the water. Those villas still stand and were part of the inspiration for the story.

But for me, it was the sorry sight of a derelict hotel, Hotel Grande Bretagne, which stuck with me and as I began to plot the story, I knew I had to include it. In the story, the hotel is called Grand Hotel Bellagio, and is owned by Lucy’s brother-in-law who has disappeared without trace, just weeks after the theft of diamonds from a wealthy guest.

Photo credidt: http://www.delcampe.net

In its heyday, Hotel Grande Bretagne, was a luxurious hotel catering to rich travellers. Located on the outskirts of Bellagio, it must have been quite a sight back then. It is sad to see the state of the hotel now. During one visit, it looked as though it was being restored, but when I was back there in 2021, work had ceased.

Hotel Grande Bretagne 2018

Then, to my delight, I discovered that smuggling had been a huge problem in the area right up to WW2, with some locals travelling across the border at night, in treacherous conditions, and bringing back goods such as salt and tobacco which they could sell at a higher price. I couldn’t resist and had to include those activities as a sub-plot.

For those who have read the series so far, you know that Lucy invariably gets herself into scrapes and it is often Phineas who must come to the rescue. Dear readers, you hardly thought that Lucy and Phin would have a non-eventful honeymoon, now did you?

So, in the vein of my favourite author, Dorothy L Sayers, our heroes have a busman’s honeymoon!