Death by Fountain

Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome is the fifth Travel Can Be Murder cozy mystery from Jennifer S. Alderson, following Wanderlust Tours guide Lana Hansen. This time the tour is a Christmas-themed circuit of Rome, and it is meant to finish with a happy errand: Lana's colleague Randy Wright is getting married in Tuscany as soon as the group disbands.

Randy's ex-girlfriend has other ideas. She turns up at the hotel convinced they belong together, and the argument that follows is loud, public, and ends with Randy saying something he should not have. When her body is found in the Trevi Fountain, the police do not look much further. Lana is certain he did not do it, which leaves her to find out who did.

The series formula holds: a real city rendered with a travel writer's eye, a manageable suspect list, an amateur sleuth with a job to keep, and violence kept off the page.