Murder in Venice - A Posie Parker Mystery, Book 6

It's been a bit since I last read a Posie Parker mystery, so figured it was time to read the next book in the series.  Posie is a character you can't help but love.  She has definitely experienced enough drama in her life - from losing her first love to another woman (then having to continue in a working partnership with him!), to facing down death time and again as she finds herself embroiled in solving some very dangerous murders, to dealing with her own heartache of losing her brother in the war.  But author L.B. Hathaway has created a very strong character in Posie Parker, one who is enjoyable to read and who draws you into the story and into her life the way few books do.

Murder in Venice is the culmination of several stories, the biggest one being the fact that Posie is traveling to Venice to get married!  Alaric Boynton-Dale, the famous explorer and aviator, had proposed, and of course, Posie said yes.  And now, Posie is making the trip from London to Venice to marry the man she loves.  But, as usual, nothing goes quite as planned.  Before she even reaches Venice, Posie catches a glimpse of a magazine cover featuring her betrothed - with another woman!  And not just any woman, but Silvia Hanro, the gorgeous actress Posie was protecting in the last book!  Just what was Alaric doing with her in Constantinople, and why do they look so happy together?  Posie begins to question her decision to marry Alaric - but that gets pushed to the side when she arrives in Venice, only to be greeted by the police, who are there to escort her.  Not to prison, though.  She learns that the home of Alaric's friend, where they were planning to stay for their wedding has caught fire and is burning to the ground!  All thoughts of jealousy aside, Posie is concerned for Alaric's safety!

The fire at the palace of the Romagnoli family is only the beginning of Posie's problems in this book.  Hathaway pulls out all the stops with this one.  The Count Romagnoli and his wife, the Countess, along with her Aunt Minnie, her brother Richard (Dickie) Alladice, her companion Lucy Christie, and her secretary, Roger Valentine, have all been forced to move across the channel to take up temporary residence with Mrs. Persimmons' English guesthouse.  It seems Mrs. Persimmons only has one guest at the present time - a salesman who keeps to himself - so she has plenty of room to house everyone.  Posie is still in shock when she first sees Alaric, but right away, she knows something is off.  Not just with Alaric, but with everyone in the house!  There is an undercurrent of distrust and lies, and Posie doesn't know what to make of it.  However, her main concern is Alaric and whether she still wants to marry him.  At least, until the body turns up.

Yes, this is a murder mystery, so you know there's going to be a murder before too long.  After all, the title says it, doesn't it?  Well, our overbearing and overweight Countess Bella Romagnoli turns up dead in the dining room, all alone, poisoned by the liquor she keeps in that silver container with the "AA" initials on it.  Which would be quite a clue if it weren't for the fact that there were TWO containers, exactly the same, with those initials.  And so the wrong person gets accused of the murder, but this person refuses to say anything and ends up in jail.  So it's up to Posie to figure out just who really did kill Bella before another body turns up.  The only problem is, everyone has secrets, everyone is wearing a mask (figuratively), and everyone could have done it!  That's okay, though, because all of these mind-games keeps Posie from thinking about the fact that her marriage plans are falling apart faster than the Romagnoli homestead after the fire!

Hathaway creates an amazingly well-crafted mystery here, and even with Inspector Lovelace's help (you didn't think he was going to miss the wedding, did you?), it will take all of Posie's cunning and ingenuity to dig deep and find out the truth.  Even if that truth winds up breaking her heart.  And be warned - for as good as this mystery is, Hathaway manages a number of misdirects and misunderstandings that will ultimately pull the rug out from everything you thought you knew was going on in the story - and gives readers a climactic conclusion that they will never forget!

What I don't get, however, is that epilogue.  Hathaway does a time jump, "many years later" it begins with, and we suddenly get a glimpse into Posie's future.  I won't spoil anything here, but I will say it left me a bit bewildered, as there are still plenty of books in this series after this one (this is only book 6, and there are currently 15 books that have been published - yes, I'm quite a bit behind!).  So, why would Hathaway give away some things that are not going to happen until "many years later"?  I guess, as the saying goes, only time will tell...

RATING:  10 great flapping black storm capes out of 10 for mesmerizing readers with a complicated, well-written mystery along the canals of historic Venice and shocking us all with that ending!