Death in the Palazzo
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
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, has 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An ancient Venetian palazzo with a sealed bedroom; a 50-year-old death; two clans related by marriage, separated by bad blood; a dinner party with 13 guests: such is the melodramatic setting for American expatriate, biographer and amateur sleuth Urbino Macintyre's fifth appearance (after Black Bridge, 1995). It is Urbino's patron and companion--Barbara, Contessa da Capo-Zendrini--who gives the fateful party. Hoping to ease strained relations with the Zeno family, Barbara commissioned Gemma Bellini-Rhys (a Zeno relation) to paint her portrait. Invited to the unveiling are Marialuisa Zeno, the ancient but formidable matriarch, and her daughter "Bambina," as well as Barbara's English cousins, Viola and Sebastian Neville, startlingly androgynous siblings who bring with them an uninvited (and unwelcomed 13th guest), Molly Wyborw. Molly's contribution to the gathering are ominous pronouncements as she claims to be able to see the past and indeed seems to know things she should not. Storms trap the guests, intensify the emotional turmoil and lead to a fatality--but is it an accident or murder? Within his storm-drenched Venetian palazzo, Sklepowich serves up a feast of Gothic proportions: a malevolent painting; a jewel with a dark past; a locked room; mysterious deaths. Urbino's quiet persistence as he attempts to untangle the skein of ancient jealousies and current passions stands out in this cast of bizarre and entertaining characters.
