Poetic Death Mystery

While visiting her favorite poets' old haunts in England's Lake District, Grace Hollister, an American schoolteacher and literary scholar, stumbles upon the body of Peter Fox face down in a stream. Thankfully, the dashing local antiques dealer is not dead - but after saving his life Grace soon finds herself pursued by two menacing thugs who are after the gewgaws Peter is hiding. Problem is, Peter doesn't have any gewgaws. He doesn't even know what gewgaws are. But he and Grace soon discover they've got something to do with Lord Byron...and someone's willing to kill for them.

American schoolteacher and literary scholar Grace Hollister has extended her stay in the Lake District to do research and act as advisor to a local production of The Vampyre, a play written by Lord Byron's doctor. But when accidents begin befalling the cast - culminating with the death of a society lady at a masquerade ball, complete with puncture wounds on her neck - it seems a real vampire may be roaming the village.

Sorting through a hoard of papers found in an old farmhouse, Grace and Peter discover an old letter that refers to a lost Shelley sonnet, "Sate the Sphinx". Before Grace can start tracking down this poetic treasure, though, Peter's shady past rears its head - a particularly ugly head, belonging to a menacing Turk who's eager to see Peter dead. But there's plenty more trouble in store. Suddenly Grace and Peter are suspects in a murder investigation, and someone has tried his level best to kill her - not once, but twice.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Theater of the Absurd takes on a whole new meaning when former teacher and Byron scholar Grace Hollister is hired as a script doctor for a cable film production. Hollywood wants to film the book Grace wrote about her past academic (and extracurricular) exploits on location in the Lake District. At first Grace revels in reflected Hollywood glamor and her reunion with boyfriend Peter Fox, antiques dealer and former jewel thief.