The Fish Market at the end of the day

Venetian Blood – Murder in a Sensuous City

 

I have been so lucky to receive this book by the author and I’m happy to write here about it.  I love to read story settled in Venice especially if there are mystery and love.

This story is set in Venice in 1992 and I have been surprise by the many accurate references (of the Italian politics but also places that are no more available like the Gazzettino or the Des Bains Hotel), I guess the author has started to write the story that year.

Actually the author knows Venice very well, each place: restaurants, banks, churches, are correctly described and also any little calle and connections between one place and another is correct. If you know Venice, it’s easily to picture yourself right there with the characters.

But what I liked more of this book is that it’s a mystery thriller, something happens every page, there are many “colpi di scena” and you look forward to see how it will end. I have read the second half of the book all in once!

Instead I have mixed feelings for the characters, the Italian men seemed to me the classic stereotypes. Real Italians, specially if rich and educated, are more restrained and don’t play the latin lover role all the time. (… or maybe they do with American tourists?)

Anyway I enjoyed Anna, her struggle and her good nature, with her strong logical mind she reminded me the protagonist of “The Eight” by Katherine Neville (a book I loved).

Definitely if you miss Venice and like mystery thriller, you will enjoy this book.

Here some more details about it:

Book Description:
Struggling to forget a crumbling marriage, forty-year-old Anna Lucia Lottol comes to Venice to visit an old friend—but instead of finding solace, she is dragged into a police station and accused of murdering a money laundering count with whom she had a brief affair. In the days that follow, Anna, a US Treasury officer with brains and athleticism, fights to clear her name in a seductive city of watery illusions. But as she tries to pry clues from a cast of uncooperative characters who implausibly deny what she sees and hears, she begins to question whether they are hiding something…or she is losing touch with reality. Racing to unlock secrets, she succeeds instead in unleashing a powerful foe bent on destroying her. Will she save herself and vanquish her enemies, including her darkest fears?

A captivating tapestry of murder, betrayal, and family, Venetian Blood is the story of one woman’s brave quest for the truth—before it’s too late.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary ebook copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Cicchetti

Love “Al Timon”, and not only because I know Ale since we were little boy scout 🙂

The notice says “Be kind, max 10 pieces”

al timon

Summer time in Murano

Where time has stood still.

burano

Summer in Venice

It’s very hot in Venice, sunset is the best time to go out.

Ormesini Al Timon

Inside the Ca’ D’oro

The Ca’ D’Oro front is wonderful, definitely. But it’s worth a visit also inside.
And every first Sunday of the month it’s free.

inside ca d’oro

More info here: http://www.cadoro.org/?lang=en

 

Arzanà and the Squèro Casal ai Servi

arzana

Reading  “The Gondola Maker”  made me think of Arzanà

a special place, where some people work to restore and preserve the traditional Venetian boats, settled in what was once one of the most important family squero of gondola maker in Cannaregio area (it would not surprise me if the writer was thinking of this place when she wrote the book).

It is also possible to organize a visit but – it’s written on the web site – there must be at least 15 visitors.

Here a very nice short video by National Geographic showing the Squero and Arzanà activities.

 

The Gondola Maker – A Book Review

Italy Book Tours has asked me to review this book, and I’m really happy to do it because the story is settled right in the neighbours where I have grown up, but five centuries ago.

the gondola maker

 

First of all I have to say that “The Gondola Maker” it’s a very enjoyable novel, easy and relaxing to read. It’s clear since the first page that it’s a book written by a Venice lover. The city of Venice is the real leading actor, the story and all human characters are of secondary importance compared to palaces, shops, canals, churches, calli and the special Venice life style.

The ambience of the squero and the other places where the protagonist lives his adventures is very accurate and interesting.

I especially liked how the author tried to picture the life in Venice among noble and poor people, streets and canals daily life, and all the relationship that tied persons on the basis of their birth, profession and experience.

This amazing affresco makes easy to forgive little mistakes and inaccuracies especially in the venetian words or locations, that – honestly – only a venetian able to visualize the conversations and paths between one place and another can recognize.

Definitely the right book to read on a flight/train to Venice.

I add below more info about the book and the author.

 

Book Synopsis:

From the author of Made in Italy comes a tale of artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world’s most magnificent settings: Renaissance Venice.  When Luca Vianello, the heir to a renowned gondola-making enterprise, experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice.

IPPY Award for Best Adult Fiction E-book
Finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award
Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award
Shortlisted for the da Vinci Eye Prize

 

Author’s Bio:

Laura Morelli earned a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, where she was a Bass Writing Fellow and an Andrew W. Mellon Doctoral Fellow. She has taught college art history in the U.S. and at Trinity College in Rome. She is the creator of the authentic guidebook series that includes Made in Italy, Made in France, and Made in the Southwest, published by Rizzoli. Laura is a frequent contributor to National Geographic Traveler and other national magazines and newspapers. A native of coastal Georgia, she is married and is busy raising four children. The Gondola Maker is her first work of fiction. Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  about.me

Where to buy the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

 

Gondole

Sometimes a gondola ride seems more a traffic jam than a romantic experience…

gondole_jam

Italiano Express, my friend Lola new adventure

A close friend of mine has started a new activity and this is shameless promotion 🙂

Lola is fluent English and really loves and knows Venice, in fact she has come back after many years abroad.
This is her new web site: http://italianoexpress.com/. Add it to your “next holiday in Venice” link folder.

italiano express