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matthew_p's review
3.0
A fast-paced mystery with solid historical research as a foundation. I struggled to get a sense of time and place, which could be down to me or the author. I'm going to read the first in this series next to find out for sure.
depizan's review
2.0
I think the author may have missed his calling in food writing - the descriptions of food and cooking were mouthwatering, but the rest of the book wasn't so impressive. Scenery and setting descriptions were all right, and the main characters were likable enough, but the plot was weirdly convoluted and spent too much time happening alongside the main characters. Something that might have worked if Palewiski had seemed threatened by the mysterious murders (which, I think he actually was, but it wasn't clear enough from the story, or all his dithering around). Without that suspense, it almost felt like there were two separate plots going on for much of the book: the search for the Bellini and the extremely weird murders.
Speaking of which...either I missed something or there was never an explanation of the weird and highly theatrical murders. I mean, there was an explanation of why the people were killed, but not the how. Unless we're just supposed to go with "because Venice is theatrical"?
Speaking of which...either I missed something or there was never an explanation of the weird and highly theatrical murders. I mean, there was an explanation of why the people were killed, but not the how. Unless we're just supposed to go with "because Venice is theatrical"?
dashausfrau's review
3.0
I really enjoyed reading about the connections between Venice & Istanbul. However, I missed most of the connections between the characters, that is, how the plot got from one point to another. I think maybe I was just feeling really lazy when I read this book & it requires more attention.
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