A Most Extraordinary Pursuit

“
A Most Extraordinary Pursuit
is a most extraordinary new mystery—with a spirited heroine to root for, a disappearing duke, and a murder set on the isle of Crete. Steeped in gorgeous Edwardian detail with plot twists and turns galore, it's a riveting read.”

—Susan Elia MacNeal,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series

“Packed with unforgettable characters, exotic settings, and unexpected twists,
A Most Extraordinary Pursuit
is a delicious adventure from the first word to the last. This book has everything a reader could want: lyrical prose, swashbuckling action, and a heroine worth rooting for. Three cheers for Truelove!”

—Deanna Raybourn,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries

“Juliana Gray brilliantly weaves historical detail, classical mythology, and unforgettable characters in this magnificent book. A triumph!”

—Tasha Alexander,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Adventuress

“If Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody and Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia had an intrepid younger sister, it would, without doubt, be the heroine of Juliana Gray's new series, Miss Emmeline Truelove. A rollicking good adventure with just a whisper of the supernatural.”

—Lauren Willig,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Pink Carnation series

“I fell in love with the winsome, witty, and oh-so-clever Emmeline Truelove. Gray's charming historical mystery flavored by a perfect romance is an utter delight. You'll devour
A Most Extraordinary Pursuit
like a luscious box of chocolates, but without any guilt because it's oh-so-smart.”

—M. J. Rose,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Juliana Gray has a stupendously lyrical voice.”

—Meredith Duran,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Charming, original characters, a large dose of humor, and a plot that's fantastic fun.”

—Jennifer Ashley,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Fresh, clever, and supremely witty. A true delight.”

—Suzanne Enoch,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Fun, engaging, sensual, and touching . . . Gray's lyrical writing, intense emotion, and spirited characters carry the sophisticated plot to satisfying fruition.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Emotionally electric scenes between strong characters make this one a winner.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“A literary force to be reckoned with.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

“Exquisite characterizations, clever dialogue, and addictive prose.”

—
Library Journal
(starred review)

“Extraordinary! In turns charming, passionate, and thrilling . . . Juliana Gray is on my autobuy list.”

—Elizabeth Hoyt,
New York Times
bestselling author

BERKLEY

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Copyright © 2016 by Juliana Gray

Excerpt from
Along the Infinite Sea
by Beatriz Williams copyright © 2015 by Beatriz Williams

“Readers Guide” copyright © 2016 by Beatriz Williams

Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

BERKLEY is a registered trademark and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

eBook ISBN: 9780698176485

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gray, Juliana, date.

Title: A most extraordinary pursuit / Juliana Gray.

Description: Berkley trade paperback edition. | New York, NY : Berkley Books, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015039206 | ISBN 9780425277072 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Missing persons—Investigation—Fiction. | Man-woman

relationships—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Historical. | FICTION / Romance / Historical. | FICTION / Romance / Suspense. | GSAFD: Romantic suspense fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3607.R395 M67 2016 | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039206

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley trade paperback edition, October 2016

Cover illustration by Michael Crampton

Cover design by Sarah Oberrender

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their
content.

To Maestro Verdi,
for whom great passion was never a mere
subplot.

If you find this book unusual in certain respects, you (and certainly I) have my editor to thank: the lovely and reckless Kate Seaver at Berkley, who gave me free rein to write whatever I wanted, in whatever style I wanted, based on a disgracefully brief and deliberately vague synopsis. Those of you who have read my earlier books will recognize a few familiar characters—and I apologize for killing off the Duke of Olympia on the first page, an act of creative destruction—but everything else has gone off in a new direction, which will probably end my career as Juliana Gray. To Kate, and to all the well-meaning, talented souls at Berkley who have assisted in the development and marketing of this novel, I offer my endless gratitude and any letters of reference you may soon require, once Management realizes what we've done.

Sharing the blame is that great schemer (and worthy of a novel in her own right) Alexandra Machinist at ICM, who actually got Penguin to write a contract for this novel and its successor, using her Jedi powers of persuasion. Alexandra—assisted by her capable sidekick, Hillary Jacobson—has kept the champagne
flowing at Gray Grange for many a year, and if you have any impossible-to-sell manuscripts hiding among the orphaned socks under your bed, I'd recommend you just send them her way. All of them. (You're welcome, Alexandra!)

Speaking of champagne . . . Lauren Willig. Not only a damned fantastic storyteller, but a quaffer of anything bubbly—my kind of girl, in other words—and a Real Help when one's driven one's outlandish omnibus of missing dukes and Edwardian ghosts and Greek myths into a ditch. (Go figure.) By way of thanking her for her invaluable assistance over coffee and omelets at a certain Le Pain Quotidien in midtown Manhattan, I urge you to buy anything she writes. A Lauren Willig book may be just the antidote you need.

We may safely disregard the fractious Gray offspring in any expression of gratitude—without them, which God forbid, this book would have been finished at least a month or two earlier—but Mr. Gray really can't be ignored. Solid and attractive, he performs the duties of a writer's husband without too much complaint, and he's always there for a cuddle when the champagne has run dry.

(Oh, all right. The truth is, I simply can't do without him.)

And finally, to my dear and faithful readers, who have waited so patiently for the next Juliana Gray book, only to discover that there's no sex inside. I'm sorry. Stay with me. I love you.

The distinction between the past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.

A
LBERT
E
INSTEIN