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Melusine and the Watery Mind

Linda Lappin, Loving Modigliani Serving House Books

On a secluded Italian island, the search for a missing aviator uncovers a mystery, centuries old, entwined with Etruscan legends of an aquatic race.

Italy,1930. When Italian aristocrat Silvio De Morena vanishes in a plane crash on Monte Amiata, psychic sleuth and mystery writer, Daphne DuBlanc, is engaged by his sister Melusine to investigate. On Melusine’s secluded island, Daphne encounters archaic rituals, forbidden scientific experiments, and persistent legends of an ancient aquatic race. As Daphne searches for clues to Silvio’s disappearance, she must confront an unsettling possibility: what if the legends are true?

Author: Linda Lappin
Paperback, 360 pages, 2026
LITERATURE | Novel
ISBN-13: 9781972482124

Linda Lappin is an American writer who has lived in Italy for many years. Her award-winning books explore the elusive boundaries between history, place, myth, and imagination. Her novels include The Etruscan, Signatures in Stone: A Bomarzo Mystery, Loving Modigliani, and Katherine’s Wish. She is also the author of The Soul of Place, a guide to the art of writing about place across literary genres.

 Linda Lappin’s latest historical mystery returns readers to the mysterious Tuscia of central Italy. Ancient lore, untamed landscapes, and hidden places are filled with signs and signatures for Daphne Du Blanc to interpret as she investigates the disappearance of a local nobleman. Rich in atmosphere and unforgettable sense of place, Melusine and the Watery Mind is a page-turner that invites readers to discover the timeless mysteries of Tuscia.

—Mary Jane Cryan, author of Etruria

 “I’ve been a fan of Linda Lappin’s novels for years, and she’s outdone herself with Melusine and the Watery Mind. I was immediately drawn into the Gothic tale and couldn’t stop turning pages until well past my bedtime. A captivating mystery that brings both history and myth to life on an isolated Italian island.”

—USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian

“It’s 1930. Picture an ancient palazzo surrounded by an ominous lake in Central Italy. Its prince is missing. English mystery writer Daphne Du Blanc is hired to find out what happened to him. This very gothic mystery unfurls at ever-increasing speed as investigator Du Blanc unearths long -hidden secrets of a most unusual family.” 

—Shelley Buck, author of India Bound

“An esoteric tale with luscious writing… creepy and unsettling—a transportive story that seduces the reader with its beauty. The Etruscan explored tombs, Signatures in Stone explored a labyrinth, and Melusine and The Watery Mind explores water …and its creatures.”

—The Starry Library

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