A Death in Venice by Verity Bright Book Review (Blog Tour)

Publication Date: 28 March 2024
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Print, e-book and audio
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #17
Genre: Historical Mystery, Cosy Mystery

Synopsis

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 Thoughts

Ellie is awestruck by the wonderful sights of Venice in the lead up to carnival time: its people, architecture, canals and history. Joining Ellie on this Venetian escape are the fun-loving female staff (the girls) of Henley Hall; Gladstone (the bulldog) and Tomkins (his feline companion) and, of course, Clifford (the butler) who is master of just about everything and a fount of knowledge, but delightfully blushes and squirms when ladies' unmentionables are mentioned.

One never knows if Detective Inspector Hugh Seldon, Ellie's fiancé, will put in an appearance. Unfortunately, this time he is just a voice at the end of the telephone, with some humorous results. His attempts to contact Ellie are thwarted by poor telephone connections; disjointed conversations causing some concern and perhaps a little jealousy on his part. After all, Ellie is in one of the most romantic cities of the world without him.

True to form, when an innocent man is accused of murder, Ellie and Clifford set out to find the real murderer, becoming embroiled in a long-standing feud between two prominent Venetian families, while also trying to help two young lovers and ensuring that they themselves do not end up as corpses in the canals.

Excitement and humour abound, intermingled with interesting facts and evoking descriptions, which make this series so entertaining and a firm favourite of mine. I eagerly await the next book!

Meet the Author

Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.

Connect with Verity: Twitter

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Where to Purchase

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0CN6ZXXSBsocial

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