Lead Review (plus the author talks about his favourite eating and drinking establishments in the city!)

• Book: Vengeance in Venice
• Location: Venice
• Author: Philip Gwynne Jones

Review Author: tripfiction

The Literary Review says “The Venetian setting is vividly described and Gwynne Jones’s good, fluent writing, makes for easy reading“. There’s not much more I can say, as that sentence sums up Vengeance in Venice. But here’s a little more about the book before you hurry of to buy it (which you will want to do) and armchair travel to Venice….

Nathan Sutherland is the honorary consul in the city and it is art Biennale time, when countries gather and set up peacock displays of art in pavilions all around the city. Nathan attends the Great Britain vernissage – reception – where Turner Prize nominee Paul Considine is showing his work, cutting edge glass displays.

And cutting it is. The glass structure on which art critic Gordon Blake-Hoyt (GBH by name and by attitude) is standing, implodes, precisely slicing through his neck and killing him. The finger initially points at the people who set up the exhibition but it soon becomes clear that a murderer most foul is at work, perhaps targeting the art critic establishment?

Nathan has a nose for people – he is after all a very affable and well liked honorary consul – and by chance stumbles on clues that could well indicate there is a murderer on the loose. He starts to intuit that specific clues, mired in art and music, may direct his investigations. How could Juditha Triumphans (an oratorio by Vivaldi) possibly fit in?

As he starts to unravel the mystery, he is supported by the ministrations of his girlfriend Federica and by his little companion Gramsci, the cat who pads around his apartment.

This book is what TripFiction is all about. It is a light and easy to read storyline, with touches of humour and great observations of locale and people. As the plot moves along, the early Summer sun dapples the canals and lights up the buildings, just illuminating this beautiful city. You really feel you are there with the characters! There are just wonderful observations of the city, from Santa Maria Ausiliatrice (where Wales is exhibiting), to interesting observations of the Arsenale, and to the walk from the station to Rialto where, the author observers, there are “some nice cichetterie, some decent bars and quite a few not-so-decent ones” – that will feel familiar to anyone who has been there. … and if you want to check out this post on our website, the author suggest some top places to eat and drink in the city!

CHECK OUT PHILIP’S EATING AND DRINKING VENUES 

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