The Venetian

This Haunted World, Book 1

By: Shani Struthers

Narrated by: Elizabeth Phillips

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Their troubled past behind them, married couple, Rob and Louise, visit Venice for the first time together, looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Not just a romantic destination, it's also the most haunted city in the world and soon, Louise finds herself the focus of an entity she can't quite get to grips with - a veiled lady who stalks her.

After marrying a young Venetian doctor, Enrico Sanuto, Charlotte moves from England to Venice, full of hope for the future. Home though is not in the city; it's on Poveglia, in the Venetian lagoon, where she is set to work in an asylum, tending to those that society shuns. As the true horror of her surroundings reveals itself, hope turns to dust.

From the labyrinthine alleys of Venice to the twisting, turning corridors of Poveglia, their fates intertwine. Vengeance only waits for so long.

©2016 Shani Struthers (P)2016 Shani Struthers

Love the writing of Shani!

Love the suspense, thanks again to Shani Struthers and her wonderful narrator Elizabeth Phillips. Never a dull moment in these books, so hard to put down. I would read/listen cover to cover in one sitting...if I could! Thank you for taking me away, if only for a few hours!!

Not much of Venice

The double story takes place on an island in the Venetian lagoons, for the most part, and focuses very closely on two Englishwomen and their troubled marriages. That is not a spoiler, just a word of caution. This is intriguing in the beginning, in the part of the story that takes place in Venice, and can help to draw the reader along, at first. The narrator reads well, in an unobtrusive voice whose sense of urgency and different characterizations are effective. But there is an odd occasional doubling up or repeating of words, as if the recording was stopped, backed up and restarted, like a stutter. I can't tell if this was a problem with the recording or the device I was listening to. At one point in the story, when a man and woman both shout, the narrator and recording manage to give a startlingly realistic performance. For readers who actually speak Italian, some of the mispronunciations may become annoying, such as a man who describes himself as "contenta" instead of "contento" and characters repeatedly saying "grazia" instead of "grazie." But overall, an engaging ghost story, well read.

Well written

Book was well written and interesting but predictable. I would read another from this author.

Narrator Fail

Some Americans do a fair job with British accents, this one did not. It was terribly distracting and I suppose I'll read the rest of the series to avoid it.
#evenamericansknowwhatrealbritishaccentssoundlike

EXCELLENT!

I didn't have high hopes for this book, the synopsis didn't sound very exciting but I played it anyways and I am so glad I did. Very original story with just the right amount of scary. I hate when horror books overdo the scary parts to the point of making it just sound like a B-grade horror movie. This book was not like that at all. it was such a great balance of all areas. And it lead up to the climax in such a believable way that it made the story feel so much more legitimate. I loved it and plan to read more Struthers books!

Well, there were scary parts

A bit tricky, rating this book. It is verrrryyyy slow to develop, hits a good stride and is plenty creepy/scary, but the last few chapters? Meh. very good narrator for all characters.

great and interesting book

I really enjoyed reading this book it was very entertaining and the performance was great

Stupid heroines and worthless, incompetent men

What disappointed you about The Venetian?

the premise is interesting but the characters are are just irritating. The two women who are main characters in the story are most annoying.

Has The Venetian turned you off from other books in this genre?

No - I'm still looking for a good ghost story.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance was not bad. It was hard to get beyond the silliness of the story.

What character would you cut from The Venetian?

None

I love her other series!

Unless someone can tell me what chapter I can jump to for this book to stop sounding like an amateur “romance” novel and more like a paranormal activity story...or something interesting...I don’t think I can finish this book. The first seven chapters seem to focus on a suddenly horny wife (which, predictably, I’m sure ties-in with the story at some point.) that just wants to have sex, walk Venice, and drink. The husband? Well, so far he just exists as the person the wife is having sex with. The narration is clipped and mostly monotone. Maybe because of that, the characters come off as cold and quite lifeless. Thus far, nothing even remotely interesting has happened in this book. And the wife’s character is also given a ridiculous and exaggerated fear of the plague mask and all “dark” masks. Honey, you shouldn’t be traveling to Venice in that case! I was cringing listening to that entire ordeal. I was looking forward to listening to this book, because I love reading her paranormal investigation series.