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Coming October 17, 2008
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Donald G. Geddes, III
1st edition
244 pp. 9.75 x 6.25 in
Hardcover; elegant 3-piece case
Gloss-varnished photo covers w/black cloth trim
Cover and book design: Jedd Haas
Editor: Ron Kenner
EAN/ISBN-10: 0-9773514-9-1
EAN/ISBN-13: 978-0-9773514-9-7
$17.95 (CAN $19.95)
Morgana Press (October 17, 2008)
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Ruins of Grandeur
A "Peter Grant Chronicle" — by Donald G. Geddes
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Ruins of Grandeur is a seductive mystery set in the labyrinthian world of Venice — a lush yet easy-to-read tale of intrigue, deceit, theft and murder.
Amid the heady atmosphere of Venetian society entwined with the underworld, the story intersects the sacred and profane, unraveling the enticing and lurid secrets of the privileged and powerful, the beautiful and the cursed.
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MENACE, MYSTERY, MURDER, MAYHEM AND MAJESTY
Unfurling amid a lush setting, author Donald G. Geddes' high-octane story pulls the reader into an alluring maze, a place where unsettling secrets and curiosities are revealed and human failings and flaws are exposed. Beyond the foibles of swiftly changing currents and weaknesses, pleasures and obsessions beckon, wreaking havoc.
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AN AMERICAN SWEPT INTO A VENETIAN LABYRINTH
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From the silky-smooth armchair safety of a voyeur, readers plunge fast and furiously, eavesdropping on lavish lives corrupted by an array of tempting villains and a corrosion of moral decay.
Many who come to Venice search for remnants of the vanishing light, for vestiges of virtue and artful disguise.
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LULLABY OF THE LAGOON
New York art sleuth Peter Grant and his capricious estranged wife, Claire, find themselves deeply enmeshed in an intriguing yet deadly web of Venetian politics and crime; they share the masks of the pursued and the pursuers.
On the surface, stylish and sophisticated Peter is urbane and witty, wry and dry, cunning and cool; every man's suave and debonair alter ego — yet he is equally as appealing and disarming as every woman's endearing boy-next-door. Peter is the kind of normal yet fast-living best friend that everyone wishes to have.
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ENGAGING MASTERPIECES, ANTIQUITIES AND INIQUITIES
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The elegant high-art isle of Venice is almost synonymous with a cultured landscape of aristocrats and royalty, eccentricity and decadence. The age-old landscape is lush with an air of affluence, nobility, decay, worldliness, social affectation, world-weariness and a pained sense of irony. An undercurrent sensation of dark pleasures and pursuits permeates the narrow walkways, wafting through the air unseen, as vapory and unexplainable as "air kisses."
This is where the continent-hopping jetsetters, the well heeled and Bohemians alike seek and find shade and refuge for their untold secrets.
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THE RICH, THE TITLED, THE TROUBLED, THE DISSOLUTE
Beyond the palazzo exteriors, most who come to Venice find the troubled waters, the relics of grandeur, the gilded dark mirrors they are looking for. Peter is no exception. His voice and image radiates long after the book is closed.
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THE STORY
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In the sensual Ruins of Grandeur, a fast-paced mystery, readers vicariously accompany the urban, affable, New York art sleuth Peter Grant, summoned to Venice by Lloyd's of London to recover a priceless Giovanni Bellini original masterpiece stolen from an Austrian Archduke's seventeenth-century palazzo.
Under the charm, elegance and decadence of the winged lion's dark-edged renaissance city, Peter pursues reconciliation with his beautiful estranged wife, Claire. Meanwhile what seems a case of simple art theft spirals into a depraved conspiracy and Peter finds himself swept into the deep, troubled waters of holiness, debauchery, theft and murder.
Befriended by the enigmatic Russian Princess Irena Dolgorouki and socialite Cinzia Aliverti, along with some eccentric buddies at Harry's Bar, Peter needs all the help he can get. Despite the former mentoring of Dr. Umberto Ferculi, now the director of the Vatican Museum, and help from Venice Police Deputy Luca Moretti, Peter becomes a hunted man accused of the double slayings of a well-connected, beautiful model and a Benedictine monk robbed of a holy artifact.
Moving in and out of this crowd of continent-hopping nobility and cultured bohemians, it is only by calling upon his unique brand of savoir-faire that Peter narrowly escapes capture and is able to track down the painting and the missing artifact. Then as both objects slip through his grasp, he discovers that Claire is about to become the next murder victim.
As Peter descends into the underbelly of Venice, he travels the canals and narrow streets, moving through the grand old houses, restaurants and churches. Amid a series of perverse twists and turns, he manages to untangle the mystery and unmask an unexpected villain.
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"Could not put it down. The vivid scenes of Venice were delightful, the characters and the twists and turns were a real page-turner. I finished reading it in two evenings and found myself wanting more."
— SUSAN FURMAN, author of The Matchmaker and A Special Star: My Journey with Lucy
"Seductive. Lush. Snappy. An intimate story and intriguing characters drawn by an author who obviously knows Venice well." — TJ FISHER, author of Orléans Embrace and Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints
"The author brings Venice alive for all the reader’s senses ... very obviously written by a man who has been there, absorbed it all through his very pores, and loves the place. Now he is sharing it with us, and we are the richer for it ... mystery novel and a sensual reading experience you won’t soon forget." — AVA DAY, COZIES, CAPERS AND CRIMES
"Highly entertaining and intelligent ... darker side of the art world ... theft, murder, forgery and pillage ... witty journey ... does not let us down. " — NOEL HYND, THE BOOKSHELF
"Intriguing tale ... entangled in the politics and underground of Venice ... well-crafted mystery ... will leave mystery buffs eagerly looking forward to another encounter with this urbane and witty New Yorker."
— THE MYSTERY/SUSPENSE SHELF, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"Exciting climax ... plumbs the depths of corruption in Venice ... rich in the lore of Venice ... fast-paced and well-plotted adventure — a real page-turner. Armchair travelers who love art with a healthy dose of murder and mayhem will enjoy." — MICHELE REED, I LOVE A MYSTERY
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