Murder in Venice, book number 13 in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy mystery series, is set in Venice. Venice is a city that occupies a very special place in my heart, in spite of the fact that I lived in Italy for over eight years and never visited the city even once. It’s only since moving back to the UK that I found myself going there from time to time, first on business and then as a tourist.
The reason it occupies such a special place in my heart is because almost exactly 10 years ago today, I was diagnosed with cancer and had to have a major operation. While digging around inside me, the surgeon removed various bits for analysis, and it was the end of November before I was summoned to the hospital to her the surgeon’S verdict. To my massive relief he reported that they appeared to have got it all and that they could see no further trace of cancer in my body. I went home and told my wife and we decided to go away for a few days to celebrate. Where to?
Venice of course.
Everybody knows about Venice being the city built on the water, but not everybody knows that, not only is it built in the lagoon, but almost all the buildings – including such massive constructions as the Doge’s Palace, Saint Mark’s Basilica and many more – are actually built on wooden foundations, not solid ground. Thousands upon thousands of wooden piles were driven into the mud centuries ago and formed the foundations for the city and they still hold everything in place today.
There’s a strict speed limit for all vessels in the canals of Venice. This isn’t just in order to reduce noise or for safety purposes. It is so that the water is disturbed as little as possible as this can speed up erosion of the wooden foundations. It’s no exaggeration to say that Venice is living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, it’s going to disappear into the mud and slip under the water, and the Venetian authorities are doing everything they can to shore up the city for as long as possible.
I didn’t realise it at the time, but our choice of mid-December to visit the city turned out to be perfect. As those of you who have already had the good fortune to visit Venice will know, in the summer months the city becomes overwhelmed by mass tourism. Millions upon millions of people descend on Venice from all corners of the world, and it becomes positively claustrophobic. The hall porter in the wonderful five star hotel where we stayed – it was a very special celebration after all – told me that the week before Christmas week is always the quietest of the year. So if you’re thinking of visiting, bear that in mind…
Murder in Venice is set in a very special place in that most special of cities – on a private island. The island actually exists, although I have had to use considerable poetic license in transforming it from its current dilapidated state into the luxury home of a Hollywood superstar in the book. Dan and Oscar are invited to help out at a murder mystery weekend and it’s probably not too much of a spoiler if I tell you that real murder then ensues.
I hope you enjoy the book, not just for the murder mystery element, not just for the antics of ever-hungry Oscar begging Hollywood royalty for titbits of food, but for its location. I hope my love of the city manages to shine through in the descriptions that I give, and that they inspire you to think about making a visit to that most unique of cities.
Just remember what I said about it getting very crowded in the summer.