The Girl From Venice
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4.1 • 25 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, ‘the master of the international thriller’ (New York Times) – available to order now!
'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid
'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin’ Independent
From the creator of the revered Arkady Renko series and bestselling author of Gorky Park comes a suspenseful World War II story set against the beauty, mystery and danger of occupied Venice.
Venice, 1945. The war may be waning, but the city known as La Serenissima is still occupied and the people of Italy fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a canopy of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo finds a young woman’s body floating in the lagoon and soon discovers that she is still alive and in trouble.
Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia is on the run from the Wehrmacht SS. Cenzo chooses to protect Giulia – an act of kindness that leads them into the world of Partisans, Mussolini’s broken promises, and, everywhere, the enigmatic maze of the Venice Lagoon...
Praise for Martin Cruz Smith
'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity – a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child
'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid
‘Cleverly and intelligently told, The Girl from Venice is a truly riveting tale of love, mystery and rampant danger. I loved it’ Kate Furnivall, author of The Liberation
‘Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday
'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian
'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times
‘Martin Cruz Smith’s Renko novels are superb’ William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this refreshing departure from Smith's popular international thrillers, the 15th novel from this two-time Hammett Award winner (Gorky Park) is a clever, well-crafted, and exciting blend of WWII romance, suspense, and intrigue. Set in Nazi-occupied Venice, Italy, in 1945, just weeks before Germany's surrender to the Allies, Cenzo the fisherman finds a young woman floating in the lagoon. He rescues her and kills a German officer to protect her. Eighteen-year-old Giulia is the sole surviving daughter of a wealthy Jewish family, now sought by the Germans, Fascists, and partisans because she can identify the traitor who betrayed her family. Cenzo is a simple fisherman, a veteran of Mussolini's war in Ethiopia, and wants nothing to do with this war. He feels obligated to help Giulia escape her pursuers but must rely on people he cannot trust, especially his older brother, Giorgio, a handsome Italian movie star and Fascist collaborator, as well as a Nazi colonel with a curious interest in Giulia's family. As Cenzo and Giulia wind their way through a maze of deceit, danger, and betrayal, they fall in love amid the turmoil of German retreat, Fascist brutality, and partisan reprisal. Capture, escape, a hoard of stolen gold, a forger, and a Swiss movie producer add action and passion to the novel's unexpected plot twists, and its most satisfying conclusion.
Customer Reviews
Rubbish!
Disjointed story with ineffectual characters - I’d give it minus 5 stars if I could. Waste of time and money - avoid it.