Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City

by Christine Evelyn Volker

Overview

Murderous intrigue in an unforgettable setting.

“. . . [A] pleasure trip that quickly devolves into a nightmare . . . ” —AudioFile Magazine
“A riveting whodunit . . . ” —Kirkus Reviews

A money launderer. A seduction. An old rivalry. Murders.

Fighting to forget a crumbling marriage, Anna, a US Treasury officer, comes to Venice on vacation. A choice she soon regrets.

Blackmailed by a money-laundering count, Anna demands he return explicit photos taken during their affair. He refuses. Tracking him to a hotel gala blows up when he is murdered and a dogged police detective accuses Anna of the crime.

Anna draws upon her talents in math and science to attack the intricate puzzle of finding the killer among many suspects. They stymie her efforts by hiding secrets and spinning lies in a city built on illusions. Whom can she trust?

Pursued, gripped by terror, barely dodging death’s dark embrace, Anna struggles to clear her name before police can destroy her alibi and lock her up.

But then, as attempts on her life mount, she just might be safer in prison. . . .

Readers of psychological mystery will enjoy this story of a brainy heroine battling daunting odds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631523106
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Intrigued by foreign cultures at an early age, Christine mastered Spanish, German, and Italian. After earning an MLS and MBA, she was drawn to international banking and quickly rose to senior vice president of a global bank. Her career brought her to Milan in the 1990s, where she headed Italian credit and marketing, and took many fabulous trips to Venice. She knows how to analyze an Italian financial statement, and how to launder money. Venetian Blood marks a return to her roots in the humanities and was inspired by the Italians she met, including a count. She resides with her husband in Northern California. An intrepid world traveler, she has written a second international mystery, currently unpublished: an excerpt of Jaguar Moon, set in the rainforest of Peru, was a finalist in the San Francisco Writers Conference Contest.

Editorial Reviews

2019 Independent Press Award Double Winner: Mystery; First Time Published Fiction
2019 New York City Big Book Award Winner: New Fiction
2018 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winner: International Mystery
2017 Sarton Women’s Book Award Winner: Contemporary Fiction
2018 Next Generation Indie Awards Finalist: First Novel
2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist: New Fiction
2018 International Book Awards Finalist: Mystery/Suspense
2018 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Finalist: Mystery
2018 Chanticleer Book Awards Semi-Finalist
2017 Best Book Awards Finalist

“It's the sensuous story of a pleasure trip that quickly devolves into a nightmare as bodies, illicit affairs, and international intrigue pile up in one of the world’s most romantic cities.”
—AudioFile Magazine

“In Volker’s debut mystery, an American financial expert unravels a web of mystery, corruption, and danger hidden in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. . . . A riveting whodunit that makes full use of its dramatic setting.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“. . . you will be swept away from word one.”
—Manhattan Book Review, 5 stars

“Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City is the perfect summer must-read mystery.”
—Chanticleer Book Reviews, 5 stars

“Venetian Blood was a beautifully, if not deliciously, described story. . . . the scenery often nearly jumps off the page . . . . more than enough twists and turns to heighten the suspense.”
—San Francisco Book Review

“Beautifully wrought language, Machiavellian intrigue, and the mystique of hidden history blend together to make a modern historical mystery near impossible to put down. . . . I fell in love with this story.”
—Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review

“With lush language, Volker transports us to Venice, Italy and a tantalizing mystery.”
—Nina Schuyler, award-winning author of The Translator

“The depiction of Venice in this novel is a wonderful example of literary wanderlust, the feeling of the lagoon city—often quite other-worldly—is colourfully and eerily rendered.”
—TripFiction

From the Publisher

2017-05-18
In Volker's debut mystery, an American financial expert unravels a web of mystery, corruption, and danger hidden in one of the world's most beautiful cities. In 1992, when Count Sergio Corrin is stabbed to death at a fundraising gala, half of Venice, Italy, mourns him as a philanthropist and city father while the other half seems to wish that they'd killed him themselves. Anna Lottol, an FBI agent specializing in exposing money laundering schemes, made the mistake of having an affair with Corrin, discovering too late that he used everyone to his own advantage. When he tried to blackmail her with compromising photos, she traveled to Venice to plead for mercy only to find herself the prime suspect when Corrin is murdered. With the help of her American journalist friend, Margo, Anna tries to prove her innocence by launching her own investigation into the crime. Along the way, she explores the corrupt underside of Venetian society, shady financial deals, romance gone wrong, and the enduring legacy of the destruction of the Incan Empire. But as she gets closer to the truth, she repeatedly finds herself in mortal danger. The subtitle of Volker's novel signals the importance of the Venetian setting to her compelling, intricate narrative. Her lush descriptions evoke the city's glories ("the glittering swath of Venice's watery arteries and veins narrowing to wispy capillaries, shining in the sun") while skillfully building an ominous tone ("The oar of a gondola in the distance hit the water in a frenzy, making Anna think of the flapping wings of a drowning seabird"). All the mysteries and problems of Anna's life seem to wrap up a bit too neatly, but readers will forgive this, as they also receive an engaging guided tour through ancient crimes and modern vice in one of Europe's most graceful cities. A riveting whodunit that makes full use of its dramatic setting.

Kirkus Reviews