Emily Sullivan has written historical romances, but A Death on Corfu is her first historical mystery. Set in 1898 on Corfu, an island off the coast of Greece, it features Minnie Harper, a widow living there with her two children after the death of her husband four years earlier. This debut is well-written, polished, with a cast of interesting characters including a number of British ex-pats who settled there after leaving the British Foreign Service. That’s how Minnie’s family ended up there when her husband left the government.

Now, Minnie struggles with the daily maintenance of her house, the one she and her husband bought sight unseen. She takes small jobs around the island. Although her first meeting with author Stephen Dorian doesn’t go well, she agrees to type the latest installment in his popular Inspector Dumond mysteries. But, she’s careful to remain a proper widow, worried about her association with a divorced man.

When Minnie finds the body of a local young woman, all her proper behavior goes out the window. She teams up with Mr. Dorian to investigate because both of them want justice for the young woman whose reputation is gossiped about by the locals. And, their adventures include an off-island excursion, despite Minnie’s suspicions about her companion.

A Death on Corfu is the first Minnie Harper mystery. I suspect the next one will take her back to England, as she prepares to send her daughter to school there. I hope she and Mr. Dorian find a way to continue their adventures in future books. Although the killer became obvious in the course of the story, Minnie Harper and Stephen Dorian make an excellent team of amateur sleuths.

Emily Sullivan’s website is https://emilysullivanbooks.com/

A Death on Corfu by Emily Sullivan. Kensington Books, 2025. ISBN 978149675146 (paperback), 276p.

The publisher sent an ARC, with no expectation of a review.