War heroine and intrepid crime solver Cecilia “Ace” Carroway specializes in cheating death, but she’s never encountered a murderous musical instrument before. Violinist P. Charles Derkin is the latest owner of the deadly violin, and he’s a nervous wreck. Ever since he inherited the famous Cremona Cannon, nightly noises and ghostly lights disturb his slumber. If he manages to fall sleep, violin-related nightmares jolt him awake again. When he discovers that the violin’s two previous owners each died in horrific “accidents,” he enlists Ace and her danger-loving associates.

Moments after Ace takes the case, Derkin narrowly escapes death by falling masonry. Ace will have to solve the mystery before the mystery puts Derkin six feet under.

But what – or who – could be putting Charles Derkin in peril? Is it mysterious paranormal forces? Is it Filbert Monocles, the diminutive director of the violin’s security organization? Is it Isabella Rosavino, the vivacious Italian photographer?

Ace’s probing is not appreciated by the evil forces at work. Soon, the violin’s circle of danger expands to include Ace, then tightens like a hangman’s noose. When Derkin and his violin are kidnapped, Ace will need all of her wits, her swashbuckling partners, and an airship to have a hope of saving him before they both become the next victims of – THE DEADLY VIOLIN.

Crack detective, inventor, and woman of mystery Ace Carroway's next case turns personal when one of her associates goes missing.

It's summer solstice at Stonehenge, 1922. Archaeologist Sam Biming keeps a midnight vigil to make sure none of the tourists trip into his dig site. A horrible scream rips through the air: the sound of sudden, excruciating death. The crimson splashes on the heel stone tell of grisly bloodletting. But no slashed body lies among the rays of bloodspatter, only a mysterious, solid gold ankh.

The ankh comes from ancient Egypt, but crafted recently. Sam chases the paradox, to his undoing. By the time Ace arrives, Sam has vanished.

Clues point to a secretive order of jester-assassins. But these assassins served the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and should have disappeared three thousand years ago.

Should have.

To rescue Sam, Ace must unravel the most bizarre set of clues she's ever encountered, across three thousand miles of travel and three thousand years of time. It's a puzzle to stymie even Ace's formidable intellect. Solve it she must, but if she does, one thing is clear. Assassins lie in wait at the end.