Crime never takes a rest in 16th Century Venice. The Council of Ten again turns to its special investigator Reginaldo Morosini to solve those crimes in the floating City in which the Council of Ten takes special interest. In two novellas and four short stories, Reginaldo deals with death, foreign intrigue, politics, human depravity and the everyday relationships of those whose lives intersect on the calle and canals of Venice. The poisoned bodies of a young man and woman are recovered from a shallow grave on a small island in the lagoon. The dead body being used by an artist's studio for the study of anatomy is discovered to have been killed by a gunshot. An aspiring honest courtesan is found dead in what has the appearances of a suicide. The circumstances leading to the brutal rape of a young girl defies understanding. A baker's death is tied to the election of the doge years before. A young man's mental condition is the product of an unspeakable act. Each of the stories is richly nuanced in the everyday life of 16th Century Venice, intelligent investigative deduction and the sociology and psychology of crime.
Autorentext
Tom Rynard is an author, independent scholar of American and Renaissance Venetian history, practicing attorney, and former adjunct instructor of American history at the college level. His areas of historical research include Renaissance Venice and American cultural and diplomatic history. He spent 27 years as a member of the Army Reserves, with four tours of active duty, including one tour assigned to Caserma Ederle in Vincenza, Italy, during which he spent many free weekends wandering the calli, canals and neighborhoods of nearby Venice. He has a Bachelor of General Studies degree in history from the University of Kansas, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri?Kansas City School of Law and a Masters in History degree from American Public University. He has published professionally on legal and historic subjects as books and in professional journals.
His works of fiction include the novel, Murder Gentilissimi (Murder Most Kind), a Reginaldo Morosini mystery set in 16th Century Venice, and La Çingana (The Gypsy), a collection of Reginaldo Morosini novellas and short stories. Seven Reginaldo Morosini short stories have appeared in Mysterical-e, an electronic magazine publishing mystery and crime short story fiction.