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This is the fourth adventure for David Hewson’s team of quirky police detectives from Rome – Nic Costa, Gianni Peroni and Inspector Leo Falcone. They have been exiled to Venice for six months (and in the cases of Costa and Peroni put back into uniform) as a punishment for a subtle form of disobedience carried out in Rome prior to this book. So near are they to release from Venice that Peroni and Costa have arranged a holiday with their ladies in Venice before their return to Rome. It is therefore a rude shock when their reunion at Venice station is interrupted by the call to deal with murder on the island of Murano. The story actually begins with the horrific death of Uriel Arcangeli when a terrible explosion at the family’s glassworks reduces him to a pile of ashes. The strange world of traditional families working in Murano glass reaches its apotheosis with the Arcangelis who cling on with bitter strength to all the traditional methods and refuse to make any tourist baubles. They are almost at the end of their struggles to survive as they have made a deal with a British property developer to take over their beautiful though decrepit iron and glass building. The Venetian authorities put tremendous pressure on the three detectives to make a fast verdict. A murky world of Venetian politics is invoked by David Hewson whose policemen might be fellow Italians but do not have the inner knowledge of the local men. Railroaded towards a verdict of accidental death for Uriel and of murder for the other victim whose ashes have been found in the furnace Nic, Gianni and Leo resist. They find more and more peculiarities that need proper explanation as they question the Englishman and the glass workers. The autopsy result offered by the Venetian lab horrifies Gianni’s companion, Theresa, a pathologist herself. Since Emily, Nic’s girlfriend has previously been in the US law enforcement business she also gets embroiled in the mystery especially after an accident to one of their number. Venice is beautifully evoked in all its sparkling yet tatty glory. The manoeuvres necessary to get any cooperation from any of the locals are cleverly explained and the basic mystery is one of fascination with its basis in an arcane process. David Hewson tells a compelling story with elaborate twists and turns to the very end.
Reviewed by Jennifer S. Palmer, April 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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