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Title: Death in the Palazzo
Author: Edward Sklepowich
Narrator: Fred Stella
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-30-15
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher's Summary:
In an ancient Venetian palazzo, Urbino Macintyre encounters a decades-old murder.
The Contessa da Capo-Zendrini is one of the leading lights of Venice society, but there is one house where she has long been unwelcome. Her late husband's family, the Zenos, have loathed her since the 1930s, when a gathering at her palazzo ended in tragedy. Decades later she hits on a devilish plan to make amends: inviting the Zeno clan over for a house party to make up for the one that ended in bloodshed long ago. But soon after her guests arrive, murder strikes again. The contessa begs her closest friend, American sleuth Urbino Macintyre, to unravel the mystery of the killing before it tears both families apart. No one has been in or out of the house since the fête began, so the murderer must be among the guests. It seems simple, but this is Venice, where death is never easy.
Members Reviews:
This read like a Stage Play since all the action never leaves ...
This read like a Stage Play since all the action never leaves the Palazzo. It also put me in mind of an old fashioned Agatha Christie story.
A continental murder mystery with ghostly overtones
Barbara Alvise, the widow Contessa da Capo-Zenrini has mixed
emotions about having her portrait painted by her famous relative,
Gemma Bellini-Rhys. She wants the painting done because she promised
her deceased husband over two decades ago that she would have her
picture painted. At the same time, she does not relish the unveiling
because her family and her in-laws, who have feuded for over thirty
years, will be coming together at her home.
A few weeks later, thirteen people come to stay for a few days at
the Contessa's Venice home to attend the unveiling. One particular
room, the Caravaggio room has been kept locked since 1938 because
several people died inside and her spouse believed that there is a
haunted painting inside the room causing the deaths. The next day, one
of the guests, Molly, is found murdered inside the Caravaggio room.
Barbara, who believes that the room caused her visitor's demise,
nonetheless turns to her friend, American expatriate Urbino Macintyre
to find how who did it and why before someone else dies.
DEATH IN THE PALAZZO is an interesting who-done-it that has hints of
the supernatural to add a dash of flavoring. The lead characters are
intriguing, though their motivations do not always ring in tandem with
their personalities. No one does Venice better than Edward Sklepowich.
This is a novel for readers who enjoy a fun continental mystery.
Harriet Klausner
----
You can feel the suspense building along with the storm.
Sklepowich uses the city of Venice as one of the characters in this offbeat "country house"mystery. If you have never been there, you may think yiu have: if you are fortunate to have been a visitor, forgotten memories may flash back.
The characters are interesting, but almost incidental to the story and setting. It is a fast-reading page-turner that keeps you guessing