A Very Venetian Murder
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
During an Italian getaway, Reuben Frost tracks a historically minded murderer
The sun shines bright on the canals of Venice, and in his seat in the motoscafo, Reuben Frost can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be. For more than two decades, Frost and his wife have made an autumn pilgrimage to the Bride of the Sea, and he credits the city’s restorative effects with helping him survive long into retirement. As always, the couple stays in the legendary Hotel Cipriani, presently occupied by the outrageous fashion designer Gregg Baxter, but this time they’ll learn there’s more than one way to die in Venice.
After surviving an attempted poisoning, Baxter is found stabbed to death by a colorful hand-blown glass dagger—the weapon of choice for Venetian assassins ever since the Renaissance. With the help of Commissario Valier, an Italian detective, Frost must find the killer or risk spoiling his vacation.
A Very Venetian Murder is the 7th book in the Reuben Frost Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the seventh Reuben Frost outing (after Murder Saves Face ), Murphy mixes travelogue with a guide to gourmet meals, neglecting to include much mysterysince food conceit is used in earlier review--see above .some weeks my reviewers are just hungry! no wonder on what we pay them.. Retired Wall Street lawyer Frost and his wife, Cynthia, on vacation in Venice, are invited to an ultraposh dinner where American fashion designer Gregg Baxter will introduce a colleague's new line of fabrics. Baxter, a diabetic, believes someone is trying to poison him by tampering with his insulin, and asks Frost for help. But the next day the designer is stabbed to death with a glass knife. Now the police ask Frost for his (unofficial) assistance in investigating the designer's coterie. As he pokes around, Frost uncovers plausible motives for most of Baxter's circle: the young black designer who was once Baxter's lover; a favorite model; the company's financial adviser; the marchesa; and Baxter's girl Friday, rumored to have a drinking problem. Although the historical background and atmospheric detail are appealing, Murphy (the pseudonym of former Wall Street lawyer James Duffy) skimps on believabilityand excitement.
