by Donna Leon
First published 2012
Caterina Pellegrini sits in her Manchester office, dreaming of Venice. The baroque opera scholar left her native city for career prospects, trading canals for English rain. When a Venetian law firm calls with an unusual job offer, she packs immediately. Two ancient trunks have surfaced after three centuries, supposedly containing the papers of a baroque composer who moved in powerful religious and political circles. The childless composer left no clear heir, and now two Venetian cousins battle over his estate. Caterina must examine whatever documents lie inside to determine his final wishes. But as she digs deeper into the composer's papers, her research veers into unexpected territory. The trunks may hold secrets far more complex than a simple inheritance dispute. Music, history, and human greed intertwine as Caterina discovers that some mysteries have waited centuries to surface.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, art-history, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Manchester, Venice
Period: Baroque
244 pages · Hardcover · Atlantic Monthly Press