Stunning views across the Grand Canal and a hotel suite fit for royalty… Lady Eleanor Swift is having a jolly good time on her Italian vacation, until a gondola ride is cut murderously short!
1924. Lady Eleanor Swift has been on a grand tour around Italy for a month with her butler Clifford. Finally arriving in Venice, she’s thrilled to be attending the famous carnival: all that’s needed is the perfect bejewelled costume for her faithful bulldog, Gladstone. But on her first gondola ride to take in the sights, a passenger collapses into the canal with a knife sticking out of his back.
Eleanor saw an argument break out between the gondolier and the victim, Councillor Benetto Vendelini, and it turns out they’re rivals from the city’s two great families. Vendelini’s murder is sure to reignite their centuries-long feud. While attending a glitzy ball that night, Eleanor learns of a plot to steal a precious family heirloom from the Vendelini household. Is the stolen item the key to solving this baffling murder?
In this floating city of tiny winding alleyways, Eleanor traces the missing heirloom to an antiques dealer in a far-flung corner of town. But when her handbag is snatched by a cloaked thief, she realises the murderer is dangerously close. Can Eleanor unmask this most cunning of killers, before she joins the other victim at the bottom of the Grand Canal?
An utterly gripping historical murder mystery set in Italy, full of intrigue and charming characters. Fans of T.E. Kinsey, Agatha Christie and Catherine Coles will be totally hooked by A Death in Venice!
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
‘Still harbouring a yearning to join the profession, my lady? Rigidly following a routine meal schedule and indulging in only lady-like portions?’ She shook her head in horror. ‘Not a chance, Clifford. What a hideous idea!’
Clifford! I’ve just had the most extraordinary moment where words came out of my mouth before I’d even had the thought.
‘You shouldn’t be mixed up in any of this awful trouble, anyway. I so wanted you to come away purely for a holiday.’ ‘Which it has been,’ he said drily. ‘In inimitable Lady Swift style; replete with inappropriate venues, danger and, ahem, bodies.
If a compliment was intended, please forgive my having missed it.
My Review:
I adore this delightful series. The crafty writing duo known as Verity Bright just keeps getting better with each new addition. Their writing style is smooth, witty, wryly amusing, and unfailingly entertaining. This installment was opulently detailed with the brilliance and colorful splendor of Venice and had me wanting to pack my bags and hop on a gondola myself. The mystery was well-plotted and unsolvable for anyone but the uncanny brain trust found in the pairing of Lady Swift and her infinitely prepared butler, Clifford.
