George and Frances Roll the Dice

A Countess of Harleigh Novella

By: Dianne Freeman

Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman

From the author:
George and Frances Roll the Dice is for everyone who wanted this sleuthing couple to have a honeymoon. I wanted it too, but one book tends to lead me to the next and none of them allowed Frances and George to get away on their own. Then while writing book eight, I noticed that they kept referring to a mythical honeymoon
they’d just returned from, and I realized that was my opportunity. The book had to fall between books seven and eight. And it would have to be short, or I’d never have time to write it. So, it became a novella—a book seven and a half.
I couldn’t think of anything more romantic than a villa on the Normandy Coast, so that’s where I sent them. Of course, I couldn’t let them have a quiet, peaceful honeymoon. There had to be some trouble. And a murder. I knew Trouville and Deauville were famous for beautiful beaches, horseracing, and polo, but I wasn’t sure how to bring that bit of chaos into the mix. I didn’t consider a gambling aspect until I learned about Arnold Rothstein, a racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and above all, a gambler. Rothstein fixed horseraces, poker games, and possibly the 1919 World Series. (There’s evidence both for and against.) He also inspired several fictional characters, including one of my favorites, Nathan Detroit from the musical, Guys and Dolls. My bookie/racketeer, Albert Roth, is a little more Nathan Detroit than Arnold Rothstein, a genial criminal with an innocent air. The timing is twenty years earlier, it’s set in France, and the dice game is hazard rather than craps, but I think it’s the perfect honeymoon setting for George and Frances.

©2025 Dianne Freeman (P)2025 Recorded Books