Dead in Venice cover art

Dead in Venice

Crime Grant Finalist

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About this listen

Bella Tyson is a famous 40-something crime writer suffering from writer’s block ever since a bitter divorce two years before. When a fan offers her the use of an apartment in Venice, Bella jumps at it, hoping a change of scene will have her writing again. Once there, she soon meets Will, a charming Englishman, who shows her around the city.

Enchanted by both Will and her new surroundings, Bella decides to write a supernatural murder mystery and begins researching local legends and the city’s more sinister side, including an illicit visit to the island of Poveglia, spooky former home of Venice’s asylum. Soon Bella uncovers more than she has bargained for and finds herself enmeshed in a series of gruesome real-life murders that uncannily mirror the legends she is researching.

As she and Will join forces to investigate, real life and local lore merge disconcertingly - for nothing in Venice turns out to be what seems, including Will....

©2018 Fiona Leitch (P)2018 Audible, Ltd Crime Suspense Thriller & Suspense Murder Funny Scary Witty Emotionally Gripping Mind-bending Italy

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What a great story enjoyed every moment and How great were the characters.
So I listened to this book whist I was working this week and the story just got better and better.
Dead in Venice had it all from romance to comedy and then crime and i would recommend it to anyone (adults) of course.
Fiona your very talented writer and I look forward to more of your story’s ahead well done my friend!! Charlotte xxx

Fiona!!! Writer of the year!

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I bloody loved this and finished it over the course of two days.
As the blurb tells us, Bella has a nasty case of writer's block and so jumps at the chance of a holiday to Italy for some inspiration. Once there she meets Will. The posh Englishman who seems far too perfect but whom she quickly starts to fall for.
I love Bella. I really do. Told from her point of view, I was inside her head and completely absorbed in everything she said and did, and I was rooting for her for the off. Working with authors in my day job I know how crippling writer's block can be, so I was hoping for her to overcome it … and boy does she!
When she arrives in Italy, everything is new and tense and this isn’t helped by the fact she speaks no Italian. What follows is a bit of a slow to build plot which twists and turns as the folk lore Bella has started to research for her book start to come true! Some of the tales had me shuddering, but I do love that kind of thing, so it was right up my street.
Being in a strange country, Bella has no one. No one she can properly turn to, apart from hot toff, Will. But from the off there’s something about him that isn’t quite right … or is there? Bella has recently divorced, and so trust isn’t the easiest thing for her grasp, but what choice does she have?
With a strong cast of characters, it was easy to fall into this one and not want to hit the pause button.
My only ‘issue’ was the genre … with the blurb telling us about the folk lore and an asylum and murders, I was expecting something different, something more mainstream and defined in that particular genre, what we actually get is a combination of gritty crime thriller, hilarious rom-com, with a splash of the heart-wrenching emotions. And it works.
It works so well, and I loved it. Completely.
And I love it when that happens; when I’m expecting one thing and get something so much more instead.
Bella is real, and her story feels real. It’s the kinda thing I daydream about happening to me. I want to go somewhere and have weird and crazy and scary things happen to me! She is literally living her storyline, and it’s wonderful.
I’d strongly recommend this one, folks!
It’s great!

Perfectly plotted!

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CHIAROSCURO!!! This appropriately enough, would be the best word to sum up this Italian set book - light and dark - comedy and tragedy - lighthearted flippant quips meet the grisliest hard hitting topics in, what seemed to me. often an uneasy marriage of convenience.
At first I thought this seemed like an Agatha Raisin reboot with a lot of Jane Fallon-like intrigue told in a comedic conversational lighthearted tone - then just when you are settled in for a fun filled frivolous romp ... everything got very dark - also I suppose a metaphor of Venice itself.
I adore thrillers set in foreign and especially glamorous locations such as Emily Barr's excellent mysteries and so I was really on board for this Venetian adventure but also enjoyed the establishing chapters set in the UK. It all started off very frothy and girlie and I enjoyed the description of life as a successful murder mystery writer - not so keen on a lot of the cringe worthy puns but over all I did like the chummy banter and humorous internal dialogue - could have done with a LOT less of the F words which seemed a little incongruous throughout the book and jarred with me.
And so to the crimes and mystery segment - loved the atmospheric settings but I did find the lack of any procedural protocol at crime scenes did break the spell for me with an un-researched casualness which took away any sense of realism as the book took a turn for more Nancy Drew than CSI territory. Again the mix of horrific sadistic murder with dreadful puns did not sit well with me and made realise how artful MC Beaton is to mix humour and murder mystery with Agatha Raisin without leaving a nasty taste in the mouth. Perhaps if the murders had been less shocking or the humour more subtle it would have also been more believable and less stomach churning pantomime.
I have to say I was not a fan of the romantic interest as he was made out to be so very dull. Hard as I tried I just could not muster up much enthusiasm for him, but perhaps that is because the only physical description was 5'6, mid brown haired and balding - after that I just could not shake Crimplene as a subtext and pictured him from then on in some sort of Man at C&A vintage beige Safari suit sticking out like a sore thumb in this otherwise stylish setting. I liked the way he was quintessentially an English Man Abroad - but did he really have to be painted as just one step away from the sock and sandal brigade?
Then about half way through the book took a very dark turn and got into some very heavy topics related to the murders and I have to say, for me, it felt awkward - just as if some funny chatty lady you met at a bus stop suddenly started talking about a horrible medical procedure - it just felt like a bizarre change of pace and style for the book as it then went on to handle some very gritty topics.
I enjoyed the back story to the murders and the reveals and guessed the rather unbelievable twist at the end. I also enjoyed the supernatural aspect and humorous ghoulish dream subplots and I have to say the whole book and plot was unique and very different to any murder mystery I have read.
It is a relatively short book at 6 hours and 4 minutes but it felt like the perfect length for this style of mystery and I did enjoy it but it might not have held my attention had it been much longer.
I thought the narration was excellent and I would love to hear more Audio books narrated by the very talented Deryn Edwards who made the book a delight to listen too though I am always a bit thrown when foreign locations are pronounced with such authentic gusto instead of a more a lower key Anglicised version - I would have thought that Deryn was fluent in Italian except when it came to the odd mention of the Italian police which she pronounced "Politzee" numerous times instead of "Pole- it-zeee- ahh" - but this was the only flaw in a complete gem of a performance which I really appreciated and really enhanced the many moods of the story.
Did I Enjoy Dead in Venice? Yes as at no time did I consider giving up on it and it gripped me from the start. Well worth a credit.
Would I have chosen it if I knew the theme it covered? I would have been a bit put off as it is not a topic to be taken lightly.
Do I recommend it? Yes, it is a very engaging book and light easy reading for the main part despite its darker side and indeed it is only the juxtaposition and contrast between the Jane Fallon/Agatha Raisin like mystery approach and the theme which make the dark parts look so murky in contrast. I suppose some people might say it was to serious a topic to joke about - but then I suppose murder itself is a terrible crime that we never think twice about a comedic approach to.
Food for thought, but a little uncomfortable a mix for me ... plus too much swearing also grated with me in such a lighthearted romp. In fact in that way it really is as if there are two books fighting to get out in the one story - both very well written, one light, one dark and though I would have happily read both separately, together they do not sit well with me.
I would try another book written by Fiona Leitch as I do think she is very talented and the book does end with the promise of a sequel which I would happily get on board for. hoping there might not be such a mismatch between style and theme.

Undecided on Unique Unsettling Many-Mooded Mystery

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This is a gripping story. I finished the book in two days. I did not want to press, 'pause'. A fabulous series of murders and a heart-rending and at times hilarious story. When is Bella and Will's next crime solving spree?

Gripping and hilarious!

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No spoilers here,really enjoyed this story and the odd splash of dark very English humour!

Excellent debut

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Thoroughly enjoyed this clever and refreshing romcom/murder mystery that manages to keep you laughing whilst also tackling a difficult subject matter with sensitivity. Hope there’s more “Dead in ...” stories in the pipeline!

Romcom murder mystery

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by turns funny, chilling and even a little taste of horror. the voice artist is really good, helps get you into the spirit of the book. the ending, a little unexpected but had me grinning from ear to ear.

brill.

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probably the shortest audible book I've ever purchased, feel slightly baffled that I've used a credit on this , loved that it was Venice but apart from that not very impressed

Not as long as I would have liked.

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Absolutely loved this book. The narrator is perfect for the story, and the book is funny, engaging and fresh. An excellent idea, brilliantly written.

Fresh and original

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This is well written and has some twists and turns but not for the faint hearted. I enjoyed the chilled, easy books like the Nosey Parker books and listened in my recovery and quite time after illness. This is more grim, real life stuff, which isn't easy listening for me.

Not quite what I was expecting...

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