title: Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City
author:  Christine Evelyn Volker 
description: <b>2017-2018 Sarton Book Awards Winner in Contemporary Fiction<br />USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Best Cover Design: Fiction<br />2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in First Novel<br />2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in New Fiction<br />2018 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Fiction<br />2018 International Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Mystery/Suspense</b><br /><br />"In Volkers debut mystery, an American financial expert unravels a web of mystery, corruption, and danger hidden in one of the worlds most beautiful cities. But as she gets closer to the truth, she repeatedly finds herself in mortal danger. The subtitle of Volkers novel signals the importance of the Venetian setting to her compelling, intricate narrative. Her lush descriptions evoke the citys glorieswhile skillfully building an ominous tone. A riveting whodunit that makes full use of its dramatic setting."<br /><br /><i>Kirkus Reviews</i><br /><br /><br />With lush language, Volker transports us to Venice, Italy, and the murder of Count Sergio Corrin. From the opening pages, we are swept up by language, intrigue, and a tantalizing mystery. Volker reaffirms the abiding adage: describe a world well enough and the reader is fully contained in it.<br /><br />Nina Schuyler, author of the award-winning book <em>The Translator</em><br /><br /><br />"Volkers <i>Venetian Blood</i> weaves alluring language, seductive setting, the charm of shadowed history, and cunning intrigue into a (modern) historical mystery so tantalizing you will be swept away from word one. Anna Lucia Lottol, a financial investigator for the US Department of Treasury, falls under suspicion by Italian officials in the death of one Count Sergio Corrin whilst visiting that most beautiful of riparian cities, Venice. This story drew me in straightaway, and I was loathe to stop, to leave the windand waterswept lure of an ancient city with a modern puzzle. The language and phrasing are delicious, pure poetry. Highly recommended!"<br /><br />Manhattan Book Review<br /><br /><br />"<i>Venetian Blood</i> was a beautifully, if not deliciously, described story. The author has a real talent for transporting the reader right into the heart of Venice and its mesmerizing canals, palazzos, and restaurants, exposing all our senses to a magical treat. In fact, the scenery often nearly jumps off the page... I thought the attention to detail throughout this book was superb. The story was also absorbing, and I felt drawn into Annas life almost immediately. Overall, there were more than enough twists and turns to heighten the suspense and keep me turning pages. The ending was one I hadnt anticipated until I was near the end."<br /><br />San Francisco Book Review
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](images/00008.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A  debutante, a disgraced lord, and a dead body. A disaster... or the grimmest
  meet-cute in Regency London?
  
  * * *
  
  MISS DELILAH BANCROFT HAS A PROBLEM. A sizable and rather bloody one. Namely,
  a dead man on the library floor. She’d only wished for a moment of solitude
  out of the glaring eyes of Society. Instead, she’s caught red-handed
  (unfortunately, literally) by an attractive stranger. Is he her salvation or
  ruination?
  
  Marcus, Lord Wyndam has inherited a decrepit castle and a tainted title.
  During his desperate search for evidence to silence whispers of treason
  against his father, he stumbles across a woman holding a deadly stiletto over
  a body. Is she murderer or pawn? What he knows for sure is that she is his
  only link to the truth. With enemies beating down the door, he spirits her
  from the scene before she is discovered with blood on her hands—and her pretty
  white debutante dress—to unearth her part in the grisly plot.
  
  Delilah p