The new Urbino Macintyre Venetian mystery - Long-time Venice resident, literary biographer and reluctant amateur sleuth Urbino Macintyre is helping his friend, the Contessa Barbara, to organize an exhibition of the famous textile designer Mariano Fortuny. Then the Contessa's cousin, Olimpia, is stabbed to death in a crime of passion. All clues twist back to the Contessa's relatives, but it is a delicate matter; especially as it is Barbara's loyal maid, Mina, who is found kneeling beside the body clutching a pair of bloodied scissors . . .
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In Sklepowich's well-paced ninth Venetian mystery (after 2008's Frail Barrier), literary biographer Urbino Macintyre, who's assisting his friend Contessa Barbara with an exhibit devoted to fabric designer Mariano Fortuny, visits the Palazzo Pindar, the home of Barbara's eccentric cousins. The palace houses a museum, including letters from Fortuny to the Pindars. Urbino turns sleuth after the contessa finds one of her cousins, Olimpia, dead at Palazzo Pindar with stab wounds in her chest. Kneeling next to the body is Mina, Barbara's personal maid, holding a bloody pair of scissors and crying, I killed her! I killed her! Convinced Mina is innocent, Urbino investigates all the members of the Pindar family, a goodly number of suspects, in an effort to unmask Olimpia's true killer. Sklepowich dramatically juxtaposes the splendor of Venice against the dark deed of murder. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
In Sklepowich's well-paced ninth Venetian mystery (after 2008's Frail Barrier), literary biographer Urbino Macintyre, who's assisting his friend Contessa Barbara with an exhibit devoted to fabric designer Mariano Fortuny, visits the Palazzo Pindar, the home of Barbara's eccentric cousins. The palace houses a museum, including letters from Fortuny to the Pindars. Urbino turns sleuth after the contessa finds one of her cousins, Olimpia, dead at Palazzo Pindar with stab wounds in her chest. Kneeling next to the body is Mina, Barbara's personal maid, holding a bloody pair of scissors and crying, "I killed her! I killed her!" Convinced Mina is innocent, Urbino investigates all the members of the Pindar family, a goodly number of suspects, in an effort to unmask Olimpia's true killer. Sklepowich dramatically juxtaposes the splendor of Venice against the dark deed of murder. --Publishers Weekly, 13th July 2009
In this latest installment of the popular, Venice-set Urbino Macintyre series (following Frail Barrier, 2008), American expatriate Urbino and his dear friend Contessa Barbara da-Capo Zendrini agree to look into the matter of Barbara's strange cousins, the Pindars. Their concern is aroused when cousin Gaby, who hasn't left her palazzo in more than 20 years, tells the contessa's maid, Mina, that she is afraid someone might be attacked. Only a few days later, Gaby's older sister, Olimpia, is found dead with Mina kneeling at her side. Now the case is more than mere curiosity, as Urbino and the contessa must work to free Mina from jail, which requires delving deeply into the Pindars' troubled past. Is the murder somehow connected to the fact that the cousins recently agreed to loan several Fortuny textiles to an upcoming show of the famous designer's work? Sklepowich combines an agreeable cozy mystery with some atmospheric writing about Venice, evoked both in descriptive passages and in the characters' palpable love of the city. New and old readers will enjoy this charming entry, which should be suggested to all Donna Leon fans. --Booklist, 1st August 2009
In this latest installment of the popular, Venice-set Urbino Macintyre series (following Frail Barrier, 2008), American expatriate Urbino and his dear friend Contessa Barbara da-Capo Zendrini agree to look into the matter of Barbara's strange cousins, the Pindars. Their concern is aroused when cousin Gaby, who hasn't left her palazzo in more than 20 years, tells the contessa's maid, Mina, that she is afraid someone might be attacked. Only a few days later, Gaby's older sister, Olimpia, is found dead with Mina kneeling at her side. Now the case is more than mere curiosity, as Urbino and the contessa must work to free Mina from jail, which requires delving deeply into the Pindars' troubled past. Is the murder somehow connected to the fact that the cousins recently agreed to loan several Fortuny textiles to an upcoming show of the famous designer's work? Sklepowich combines an agreeable cozy mystery with some atmospheric writing about Venice, evoked both in descriptive passages and in the characters' palpable love of the city. New and old readers will enjoy this charming entry, which should be suggested to all Donna Leon fans. --Booklist, 1st August 2009
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Venice in January,
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This review is from: The Veils of Venice (Urbino Macintyre Venetian Mystery) (Hardcover)
Once again Venice is center stage as Urbino Macintyre and Contessa Barbara get involved in the mysterious doings at the Palazzo Pindar. The Palazzo is inhabited by a group of eccentric cousins to whom the Contessa is distantly related. When one of the cousins, Olimpia Pindar is murdered, and the Contessa's personal maid Mina confesses to the murder Urbino steps in with his sleuthing. Mina and Olimpia have a 'special friendship', but despite her confession Urbino is sceptical that Mina is the murderer. Perhaps the deed was done by cousin Gaby, an agorophobic and curator of the Palazzo Pindar's small museum of curiosities, or cousin Ercule who is obsessed with Turkish culture and the dream of living there, or deeply religious and stern Apollonia or one of her two children Alessandro or Eufrosina. Thrown into this mix is an exhibit on designer Mariano Fortuny being curated by the Contessa, and of course, Venice itself.
The story is set in La Serenissima in January as snow falls rendering the City a delicious confection. Strong on atmosphere and character, this is sure to delight Venice enthusiasts, and Urbino's ex brother-in-law, Eugene, provides some comic relief.
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