Murder in Venice

Lottie Sprigg 1920s Cozy Mystery, Book 1

Murderous secrets are lurking in the City of Canals!

1923. Lottie Sprigg is a lowly maid. But when she's hired by a wealthy heiress, she embarks on a thrilling journey across Europe and beyond. Lottie's expecting exciting exploits and spectacular sights. But she's not expecting murder . . .

In Venice, Lottie befriends a famous opera singer after reuniting him with his lost dog. Early the next morning, the singer's corpse is found floating in the Grand Canal.

Who wanted the opera singer dead? Lottie is keen to seek justice for his orphaned dog. She's spotted some suspicious characters, but fingers point to a shadowy figure who prowls the streets and bridges at night. Who is it?

After a second slaying at a masked ball, Lottie's convinced she knows the culprit. But a twist prompts a new discovery and Lottie's pulled into a chilling chase through Venice's canals.

The Venetian police are stumped. So how can Lottie unmask the killer?

©2023 Martha Bond (P)2023 Tantor

Fair story; narration awful

The narrator’s voice was very hard to overcome. Especially as the main character Lottie and Mrs. Moore.

Interesting premise, pathetic ending

Lotte Spriggs, the maid and companion to Mrs. Moore is a likable character. I was rooting for her through most of the book until the end when nearly every unlikely thing occurred to identify the murderer.
It is impossible, not to be turned off by the character of Mrs. Moore, the way she is voiced makes even difficult to listen. She, and many other characters in the book are, in fact, caricatures: the rich, uncouth American; the lowly, earnest orphan maid; the helpful young lad; the overworked, inept officer of the law are present in this book.

The narrator did a fine job with accents and Italian place names. She missed the mark on an elderly lady who sounded like she was in her 20s (and of course the grating sounds of Mrs. Moore)

On the plus side, the author has clearly done her research on the canals, bridges and islands of Venice. I wish the author paid more attention to the authentic ways in which people behave and interact.