Her Deadly Mischief: Baroque Mystery [Hardcover]

Beverle Graves Myers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Baroque Mystery | Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Venice, 1742. Tito Amato has regained his zest for performing and is once again singing lead roles at the Teatro San Marco. On opening night, the famous castrato has the entire audience entranced-except for one box with its scarlet curtains stubbornly drawn. Annoyed at being ignored, Tito aims the full force of his golden throat at the fourth-tier box. He is astounded when the curtains part and a woman tumbles over the railing.

The victim is Zulietta Giardino, a mischievous courtesan involved with a young glass maker. Did a wager over a rival courtesan's jewels spell Zulietta's death? Or did the motive involve sinister events in the glass factories of Murano?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Venice's Teatro San Marco opera house forms the dramatic backdrop for the start of Myers's absorbing fifth historical to feature castrato Tito Amato (after 2008's The Iron Tongue of Midnight). On the opening night of Torani's Armida, Tito has the audience in his thrall, except for the occupants of a fourth-tier box with its scarlet curtains drawn. Keen to attract their attention, Tito projects his voice in the direction of the closed box. Suddenly, the curtains part, and he sees a masked man struggling with a woman, later identified as Zulietta Giardino, a conniving courtesan. Pushed by her assailant, Zulietta falls to her death into the orchestra pit. Tito and his wife, Liya, who shares a similar background to Zulietta, take a personal interest in her case. Encouraged by Tito, Liya hesitantly returns to the Jewish ghetto of her childhood to investigate, and unexpectedly begins to reconcile with the family that once shunned her. As ever, Myers bring 18th-century Venice to vivid life. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"As ever, Myers bring 18th-century Venice to vivid life." --Publishers Weekly on Her Deadly Mischief

 

"An interrupted aria at the Teatro San Marco, 1742. Tito Amato, the principal castrato at Venice's main opera venue, is midway through the debut performance of Armida when a spectator tumbles into the pit from the fourth tier. Zulietta Giardino, a much-admired courtesan, had been sitting in the box of Alessio Pino, handsome son of the isle of Murano's master glassmaker. With everyone's gaze on the stage, Tito, looking toward the audience, is the only eyewitness. As he tells the Messer Grande, chief of the Venetian constabulary, he saw a very tall, caped intruder, masked for carnevale, struggling with Zulietta just before she fell. When Tito recounts the evening's events to his wife Liya, a Jewess disowned by her family for the indiscretion that resulted in her son Titolino, she joins him in researching Zulietta's background, rooted in the Jewish ghetto. Meanwhile, Tito and the Messer Grande investigate Zulietta's staff, which includes Pamarino the dwarf; her many lovers; and her rival La Samsona, who had wagered Zulietta her cache of diamonds that she would be the first to sit in Alessio's box. With barely enough time to rehearse a new opera, Tito and Liya confront rampant anti-Semitism, the kidnapping of Titolino and more death before Venice simmers down. The mystery is serviceable enough, but the real accomplishment of Myers (The Iron Tongue of Midnight, 2008, etc.) is her rendering of 18th-century Venice." - Kirkus 7/1/2009

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Publishers Weekly (07/13/2009):
Venice's Teatro San Marco opera house forms the dramatic backdrop for the start of Myers's absorbing fifth historical to feature castrato Tito Amato (after 2008's The Iron Tongue of Midnight). On the opening night of Torani's "Armida", Tito has the audience in his thrall, except for the occupants of a fourth-tier box with its scarlet curtains drawn. Keen to attract their attention, Tito projects his voice in the direction of the closed box. Suddenly, the curtains part, and he sees a masked man struggling with a woman, later identified as Zulietta Giardino, a conniving courtesan. Pushed by her assailant, Zulietta falls to her death into the orchestra pit. Tito and his wife, Liya, who shares a similar background to Zulietta, take a personal interest in her case. Encouraged by Tito, Liya hesitantly returns to the Jewish ghetto of her childhood to investigate, and unexpectedly begins to reconcile with the family that once shunned her. As ever, Myers bring 18th-century Venice to vivid life. "(Sept.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590582330
• ISBN-13: 978-1590582336
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,933,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beverle Graves Myers fell in love with opera at a marionette production of Rigoletto when she was nine years old. Around the same time, she discovered Agatha Christie and hasn't stopped reading mysteries since. Now, Bev enjoys mixing murder, music and intrigue in writing her Baroque Mystery series from Poisoned Pen Press. Set in dazzling, decadent 18th-century Venice, her novels feature Tito Amato, an opera singer with a stellar talent for sleuthing. Bev also writes short fiction set in a variety of times and places. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Futures, Woman's World, and numerous anthologies. Bev's work has been nominated for the Macavity, Derringer, Kentucky Literary Awards. A retired psychiatrist, Bev now writes full time from her home in Louisville, Kentucky. Visit her website at www.beverlegravesmyers.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Venice and murder in the Baroque period - Such a good read!, December 2, 2009

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Her Deadly Mischief: Baroque Mystery (Hardcover)

First Sentence: Did I lay eyes on the lovely Zulietta before she died?

It is opening night of a new opera and Tito Amato, Venice's premier castrato, is performing his first aria. It is cut short when he witnesses a struggle occurring in one of the boxes and a woman falls dead into the pit. As the only witness to her death, Tito becomes involved in finding her killer.

In an odd way, I loved the opening of this book. While it depicts the vanity and conceit of a premier opera star, it is often that, along with an excellent voice, which makes them such. However, we quickly move to the actual murder. Ms. Myers focuses on several layers of humanity and bigotry.

It is always difficult, but enlightening, for me to read how Jews lived and were treated through history in various countries. And yet, as Tito observes, "Venice treated her Jews well." Another bigotry on which Myers focused was in her comparison of Tito's being a castrato and Pamarino's dwarfism. Both were often ridiculed, yet both were capable of sharing the same passion and emotion as anyone else. When the head of the police put down the opera as not being a real job in the same sense as others, I appreciated Tito's defense of the contributions of the Opera to Venice and the sacrifices he personally had made, without and without his knowledge and consent.

We learned a bit more about the characters of Tito and his wife Liya, as well as being introduced to the wonderful character of Messer Andrea Grande, head of the police. Myers' descriptions of people and places are evocative, including the degrees of intensity of Venetian rain. I enjoyed the description of "The Colonies" and the opportunities felt to exist there.

The mystery was very well done. There were excellent twists and well as very good suspense and tension. The clue to the solution was there, one just had to realize it. Unfortunately, I did fairly early on, and that's what dropped the rating a bit for me.

Although the mystery is resolved, we are left with a bit of a character cliff hanger, but I can accept those. In fact, in this case, it does make me anxious for the next book.

HER DEADLY MISCHIEF (Hist. Mys-Tito Amato-Venice, Italy-1742) - VG+
Myers, Beverly Graves - 5th in series
Poisoned Pen Press, 2009, US Hardcover - ISBN; 9781590582336

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tremendous historical, September 6, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Her Deadly Mischief: Baroque Mystery (Hardcover)

In 1742 castrato Tito Amato and company are performing Rossini's Armida at the Teatro San Marco. There is plenty of excitement in the air as this is opening night. However, as the opera is performed a frustrated Tito targets his voice at the rude spectators behind the closed curtained fourth-tier box owned by Alessio Pino, son of a master glassmaker. Tito feels better for a moment when the curtains open. However that nanosecond passes as a masked man is struggling with a woman before pushing her to her death.

The victim is popular but manipulative courtesan Zulietta Giardino, a conniving courtesan. Tito is the sole witness and explains to the Venetian constabulary head Messer Grand that he saw a very tall masked person push Zulietta. That night he tells his Jewish wife Liya, disowned by her family, what he witnessed. The married couple investigates as does Grand, but many diverse suspects surface including one who kidnaps their son.

The latest Baroque historical mystery (see THE IRON TONGUE OF MIDNIGHT, PAINTED VEIL, INTERRUPTED ARIA and CRUEL MUSIC) is a great tale that once again brings vibrantly to life mid eighteenth century Venice. Besides the music scene, readers obtain a perspective of the degree of anti-Semitism the lead couple faces including the opposite cutting sword of the ostracism from Liya's Jewish family. The whodunit is cleverly devised to provide readers with an exciting mystery and a strong background that makes Venice circa 1742 seem real as virtuoso Beverle Graves Myers provides a tremendous historical.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars A good mystery with something for history and romance lovers, as well, August 17, 2011

By 

John H. Manhold - See all my reviews

This review is from: Her Deadly Mischief: Baroque Mystery (Hardcover)

Her Deadly Mischief, ISBN9781590582336, Poisoned Pen Press, 277 pages, $24.95, by Beverle Graves Myers is one of the Tito Amato Mysteries.
Tito Amato, a somewhat unusual eunuch opera singer of 18th - century Italy, is the lead singer at Venice's state opera house, the Teatro San Marco. During one of his arias, Zulietta Giardino, a famous courtesan of Jewish ancestry, is murdered in a theatre box belonging to one of Venice's most prominent Glassmakers. Tito, from his position on stage, is able to see through a partial opening in the drawn curtains of the box and is the only witness to the crime. However, he cannot make positive identification because his view was restricted and the culprit's face was covered partially by a traditional mask often worn during the ongoing celebration of Carnivale. The story follows Tito's attempts to identify the murderer under the constant eye, and sometime direction of, Messer Grande, the chief of Venice's constabulary.
Numerous other major and minor characters are introduced and become involved in a most complicated plot. Among the major players: Tito's `wife', who is a Jewess, her family, their son, who was born before they met, Tito's manservant, the Glassmaker and his son who is the chief suspect, Pamarino, a dwarf who is devoted to the murdered woman, and La Samsona, another prominent courtesan and rival of Zulietta. The minor contributors to the plot are numerous and range from a respected family, the daughter of which is betrothed to the glassmaker's son, to members of Zuletta's family, and even gondoliers and some of the opera cast and employees of the Opera House.
With respect to the mechanics of presentation, the author has devised an interesting and involved plot that she adroitly shepherds to a fitting climax. Along the way, she has made an interesting and enjoyable contribution on several levels to material for modern day readers. She has 1) put a face to the unique castrati, who were some of the most prominent performers of a particular period of history. 2) provided the same for dwarfs, or the little people whose deformities in many ways caused them also to be vagabond performers as well as subjects of scorn and derision in many ways similar to that of the eunuchs. 3) presented an insightful look at the situation of Jews in that period of decaying elegance in Venice.
In summary. Her Deadly Mischief provides material of interest for the history buff as well as the mystery aficionado and has some left over for those who have a liking for the romance genre. Reviewed by John H. Manhold, award winning fiction/non-fiction author.