The Venetian Masquerade – Philip Gwynne Jones

“This may be so, but surely the important thing – the most important thing – is where is the manuscript now?” (Quotation page 104)

Content

It is Nathan´s birthday, and it is Carnevale in Venice too with lots of masked people everywhere, but still magical. Tonight Monteverdi´s  L’Incoronazione di Poppea is waiting at Opera Fenice, but Isotta Baldan, the famous opera soprano Nathan Sutherland was looking forward to finally see on stage has been cancelled again. The singer now playing Poppea is excellent, but she is no Isotta Baldan. So Nathan´s attention wanders, watching two late arrivals, coming into the opposite box. At the end of the opera applause – and a sudden scream. At the opposite box, a person now is flumped forward over the balustrade, stabbed, and in this wallet, the police finds Nathan´s business card. The events somehow seem to be connected to an original manuscript of Monteverdi´s opera Proserpina rapita, lost a long time ago. Nathan is sent on a special quest.

Theme and Genre

This thriller, part of a series, takes place in Venice during the famous Carnevale and the story centers around one of Monteverdi´s lost operas.

Characters

Nathan Sutherland works as a translator, but he too is the British honorary consul in Venice and when his help is needed, he begins to investigate, always attracted by mysteries to be solved.

Plot and Writing

The story is an interesting mixture of adventures connected to one of the missing works of Monteverdi and vivid descriptions of every day’s life in Venice, between well-known and hidden places. Although there are captivating twists, there also are some lengths.

Conclusion

I definitely enjoy this entertaining, charming series about Nathan Sutherland, but this one could not completely convince me.