The New York Timesโbestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti series takes readers beyond the Venice police force in her first standalone novel.
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Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, sheโs had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity.
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The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunksโbelieved to contain the papers of a baroque composerโhave been discovered. Deeply connected in religious and political circles, the composer died childless; now, two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim the inheritance. Caterinaโs job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the โtestamentary dispositionโ of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions, she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold. From a masterful writer, The Jewels of Paradise is a superb novel, a gripping tale of intrigue, music, history, and greed.
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โCommissario Brunetti is allowed to take a vacation once in a while, but only if his replacements are as wry and erudite as Caterina.โ โThe Washington Post
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โFascinatingย .ย .ย . Boasts the same sensitivity to human behavior that distinguishes her Guido Brunetti series.โ โBooklist
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โA veteran mystery maven weaves present-day Venice into a 300-year-old puzzle in this engaging stand-aloneย .ย .ย . Packs the charms of Venice into a smart whodunit.โ โKirkus Reviews
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โElegant prose, with humorous, wonderfully detailed descriptions as seen through the eyes of her heroine.โ โOpera News