My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for the ARC.
I found this to be a pleasant-enough read; not my usual type of thing but I do appreciate a good mystery, well-written.
Nancy Tremayne and husband Leo are spending their honeymoon in Venice, but for reasons which gradually unfold, this is a work trip for Leo. Leo's assistant Archie is accompanying Nancy to the opera at La Fenice when a person in a box opposite her suddenly falls from their balcony. Archie wants to just leave but Nancy runs downstairs to see what's happened - she recognises the now-dead woman. She'd been talking to her at a café earlier in the day and had also convinced herself that she saw another person's shadow on the balcony at the time she fell.
While her husband is tied-up with his work Nancy, and a very reluctant Archie, take us on a Venetian adventure, encountering murder, theft and forgery along the way.
The main characters' backstories are gradually revealed as Nancy's 'investigation' gets underway and we take trips along the waterways, negotiate dark, dank and narrow passageways and appreciate the architecture and art, as well as meeting wealthy art and antique dealers, sail on a luxury yacht and eat in the best restaurants - but, there are secrets hidden and lies being told, and Nancy just won't rest until she's worked out exactly what's going on.
I enjoyed touring Venice but sometimes felt I was reading a travelogue rather than a well-paced mystery, and personally felt that a couple of characters, on which some time was spent, were rather surplus to the requirements of the story itself. Also, my usual bugbear of a main character 'musing' at great lengths upon the questions which a reader should be asking themselves of an unfolding mystery, is much in evidence.
Nevertheless, a good book to take to the beach - or indeed to Venice with you.

There’s always something lovely about being on a murder hunt in Venice. Fictionally speaking of course! There’s the waterways, the narrow dark alleyways and the years of history to bear witness….Those old buildings with secrets in their walks and the bridges for escape…
The setting here is a perfect one for exploring and discovering and it’s evoked with style and panache. The famous Fenice theare where the woman dies at the start of the book is iconic in its own right for the many tragedies that have befallen it, so again idea for the mystery to draw up in from the start.
Nancy was a good an interesting character. Newly married but keen to find out the truth. The mystery is built up gradually so that the reader goes on a journey with her and discovers things at the same time. I found the way events were put together really gave the whole affair the real sense you would get on a search like this in real life. There’s a lot for her to discover and it’s a brilliantly paced and plotted story.
Characters in general were fascinating and I particularly like the husband’s assistant Archie who becomes Nancy’s ‘sidekick’ for want of a better word. He adds another layer to an already intriguing mystery.
This is the kind of book where you need to go in relatively blind and discover the trail of clues for yourself. It’s packed full of Venetian history and architecture, language and culture and gives a glowing view of the city despite the murder of course!
The city and its unique islands, palazzos and alleyways are used to brilliant effect here and this is one immersive read I was sorry to leave. I could see the potential for more so hope this is the start of a series?

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This book was good but I have to be honest this book wasn’t for me. Great storyline, great characters, but I’m not a fan of historical war stories.

The Venice Atonement by Merryn Allingham is a historical novel/ murder mystery set in post WWII Venice focussing on the female protagonist Nancy as a recent newlywed that gets wrapped into a mutli-layer mystery involving murders, thievery, and two-timing amongst friends and family.

I enjoyed the multi-faceted approach and I liked that the many layers of complexity that each character exhibited. It gave a nice feel that didnt allow for all cards to be shown all at once.

I really think that the way the book was set up, that this could be the beginning of a series, or at least continued, so we can see how Leo and Nancy advance (or do not) and how Nancy and Archie advance.

A good read. 4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and in return this is my voluntary and unbiased review.