Black Bridge: A Mystery of Venice

Rating:
Summary: Great evocation of Venice
Review: Sklepowich's fourth novel in his series is one of his best. It captures the mystery and history of Venice in vivid images and has a fascinating storyline that involves the Bocca di Leoni or the lion's mouths of truth at the Ducal Palace. The amateur detective Urbino Macintyre is following in the footsteps of the classic sleuths of the golden Age of the mystery, and his relationship with a Contessa is fascinating in what it says and it does not say, and it is a mystery in itelf. This is not for readers who like the equivalent of fast food when they read a book, but something that stimulates their mind as well as entertains, because Sklepowich is in a fine tradition of writers of elegant prose who have turned their talents to Venice, like Henry James and Marcel Proust and Thomas Mann. Publisher's Weekly gave this addition to Sklepowich's series a starred review. The seventh, The Last Gondola, was recently published.

Rating:
Summary: A tedious mystery set in Venice
Review: We purchased several mysteries set in Venice for a recent trip. This was the sole clunker. The premise is that a wealthy Countess falls in love with a performer who may be threatening to her. Her saviour in the mess is Urbino McIntyre, an Italian/American writer of mini-biographies, who is both her friend and is semi-supported by her. Urbino is 20 year younger than her at 45 and suffers from gout (and pretention). The writing is tortured and so is the reader. Give these a pass and try Donna Leon instead.