The Jewels of Paradise
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times–bestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series takes readers beyond the Venice police force in her first standalone novel.
Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she’s had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity.
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks—believed to contain the papers of a baroque composer—have been discovered. Deeply connected in religious and political circles, the composer died childless; now, two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim the inheritance. Caterina’s job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the “testamentary disposition” of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions, she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed.
“Commissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina.” —The Washington Post
“Fascinating . . . Boasts the same sensitivity to human behavior that distinguishes her Guido Brunetti series.” —Booklist
“A veteran mystery maven weaves present-day Venice into a 300-year-old puzzle in this engaging stand-alone . . . Packs the charms of Venice into a smart whodunit.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Elegant prose, with humorous, wonderfully detailed descriptions as seen through the eyes of her heroine.” —Opera News
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Taking something of a gondolier's holiday from her popular Commissario Guido Brunetti procedurals (Beastly Things, etc.), bestseller Leon debuts a stand-alone. Opera expert Caterina Pellegrini, who's been teaching in Manchester, England, returns home to Venice to accept an unorthodox assignment: researching the contents of recently discovered trunks believed to have belonged to a once renowned baroque composer, Agostino Steffani, who was also a bishop and a diplomat, so that his avaricious descendants can divide the estate. A more compelling mystery for the musicologist, however, concerns what lessons Steffani's life might offer as she wrestles with her own future. Despite the intriguing setup, Leon uncharacteristically fails to mine the premise for maximal emotion. There's too much obscure historical detail relative to the development of Steffani's character, lesser figures change arbitrarily to suit the plot's convenience, and finally, out of the blue, there's a slapdash deus ex machina ending. Consider this one a paradise lost.
