Book Title: Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City
Author: Christine Evelyn Volker
Category: Adult Fiction, 328 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: She Writes Press
Release date: August 2017
Tour dates: Sept 25 to Oct 6, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There are a few instances of bad language and a scene with partial nakedness but little concrete description)
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.
My Review
I chose to read this book after receiving a free copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
Poor Anna is on a vacation in Venice to relax and forget her problems but she finds more problems than she can handle while she is there. She’s a suspect in a murder case, an affair during a conference that was a big mistake keeps coming back to haunt her, and she thinks someone is trying to kill her. She is having difficulty trusting anyone she meets but that is a good thing because some of the people she meets are pretty shady.
Venetian Blood contains a lot of history and descriptions of Venice. Since the author knows international banking, she is able to make the banking aspects of the book seem authentic. The characters are interesting and complex but for some reason, I wasn’t able to invest them, not even Anna. I wanted to but it just wasn’t there.
There are suspense and action in Venetian Blood and even a surprise ending, although I had it figured out.
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Meet the Author
Christine Evelyn Volker became intrigued by foreign cultures at an early age, which propelled her to study Spanish, German, and Italian. After pursuing an MLS and an MBA, she was drawn to international banking and became a senior vice president at a global financial institution. Her career brought her to Italy, where she immersed herself in the language and made frequent visits to Venice. A native New Yorker, she resides with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she heads a local library non-profit organization and writes about environmental sustainability. She is currently at work on her second international mystery, this one set in the rainforest of Peru.
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Title: Daughter of Mine by Laura Fabiani
My name is Laura Fabiani and I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I’m an author, book reviewer and blogger since 2009. My reading tastes vary greatly and I read both fiction and non-fiction. I review adult, YA and children’s books, since I love reading to my children. I review books for pleasure and learning. I prefer books free of profanity, explicit sex, violence or paranormal themes. I post my reviews on my blog Library of Clean Reads, Goodreads, and Amazon.
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