Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pair of honeymooners find sleuthing more rewarding than spooning. Freed from an abusive marriage by a World War I casualty, American Jane Wunderly is eager to savor the sights and sounds of Venice with her second husband, British intelligence officer Redvers Dibble. Her plans change when her officious Aunt Millie and her husband, Lord Hughes, turn up at the couple's romantic but modest hotel. Determined to liven up the newlyweds' stay, socially connected Millie invites them to a costume party at the palazzo of Clara Ann Morton, heiress to an American salt company fortune, who greets them clothed in a giant snake and little else. The entertainment includes magicians, fortune tellers, and soon, a murder. The victim is Clara's ex-husband, Italian poet Christopher D'Annuzzio. But instead of suspecting the spouse, Ispettore Fizzoli of the Venice police arrests tarot reader Deanna Parks, an acquaintance of Jane's from Egypt. Jane confesses to Redvers that she finds sightseeing slightly boring, and she'd much prefer investigating D'Annuzzio's death. After interviewing a host of colorful characters Clara claims were her or her ex-husband's former lovers (or both), Jane concludes that "everyone we've spoken to is absolutely screwy." For better or worse, that observation applies equally to the detectives. Following the newlyweds as they tool around the canals in a boat they rent from a total stranger, break into suspects' apartments, and barge into a police station demanding to interview suspects in custody may delight readers who can suspend a lot of disbelief. Solving a death at the Morton heiress' estate requires more than a grain of salt. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
