Her Deadly Mischief

Set in Venice in 1742, Tito Amato is excited by singing the lead in a new opera. While he is used to the jaded and fickle crowd, it seems that all of Venice is equally interested in experiencing the latest entertainment, which is why Tito, when on stage singing, is surprised to see the curtains drawn closed on one of the opera boxes. Seconds later, as he watches, the curtains part, revealing a woman struggling with a man masked like many others during Carnivale. The performance ends abruptly as the woman falls from the fourth tier balcony to her death. Although Tito has investigated murders before, this time he's got no true reason, other than the fact that he's the only witness who saw the murderer. But he really didn't see all that much. Still, he's the only hope of the new Messer Grande, who is officially in charge of solving the crime. And Tito is intrigued by the past of the victim, Zulietta, a courtesan who shared a common upbringing with Tito's wife Liya, that of Venice's Jewish Ghetto. The mystery also involves a wager with another notorious courtesan, a dwarf who is a more than dedicated servant to Zulietta, a scion of a famous glass-making family, and possible connections to the Ghetto. There is a nice mix of historical and social detail with a strong mystery plot that makes this another excellent book in a very good historical mystery series. The books can be read alone, but it's best to read them all in order, starting with INTERRUPTED ARIA.

This series set in 18th century Venice features Tito Amato, a castrato who sings lead roles at the Teatro San Marco. On one opening night, the performance is disturbed by the death of a courtesan who falls from a fourth-tier box. Tito is the only witness, and he gets more interested when he learns the victim started life in the Jewish ghetto, where his own wife and adopted son once lived. As Tito investigates, we learn a lot--painlessly--about the culture and the city. The most interesting aspect of the book is Tito himself. He is both lionized as a star and vilified as a freak. Both he and the dwarf Pamarino are outsiders who never quite make it all the way into the tent. That gives them an edge, and lends a depth to the storytelling.

First Sentence: Did I lay eyes on the lovely Zulietta before she died? It is opening night of a new opera and Tito Amato, Venice's premier castrato, is performing his first aria. It is cut short when he witnesses a struggle occurring in one of the boxes and a woman falls dead into the pit. As the only witness to her death, Tito becomes involved in finding her killer. In an odd way, I loved the opening of this book. While it depicts the vanity and conceit of a premier opera star, it is often that, along with an excellent voice, which makes them such. However, we quickly move to the actual murder. Ms. Myers focuses on several layers of humanity and bigotry. It is always difficult, but enlightening, for me to read how Jews lived and were treated through history in various countries. And yet, as Tito observes, "Venice treated her Jews well." Another bigotry on which Myers focused was in her comparison of Tito's being a castrato and Pamarino's dwarfism. Both were often ridiculed, yet both were capable of sharing the same passion and emotion as anyone else. When the head of the police put down the opera as not being a real job in the same sense as others, I appreciated Tito's defense of the contributions of the Opera to Venice and the sacrifices he personally had made, without and without his knowledge and consent. We learned a bit more about the characters of Tito and his wife Liya, as well as being introduced to the wonderful character of Messer Andrea Grande, head of the police. Myers' descriptions of people and places are evocative, including the degrees of intensity of Venetian rain. I enjoyed the description of "The Colonies" and the opportunities felt to exist there. The mystery was very well done. There were excellent twists and well as very good suspense and tension. The clue to the solution was there, one just had to realize it. Unfortunately, I did fairly early on, and that's what dropped the rating a bit for me. Although the mystery is resolved, we are left with a bit of a character cliff hanger, but I can accept those. In fact, in this case, it does make me anxious for the next book. HER DEADLY MISCHIEF (Hist. Mys-Tito Amato-Venice, Italy-1742) - VG+ Myers, Beverly Graves - 5th in series Poisoned Pen Press, 2009, US Hardcover - ISBN; 9781590582336

Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (5/09) I wasn't sure at first that I would enjoy this book; however, it was very captivating and full of exciting "who done it" pages. Tito Amato is a lead singer at the Teatro San Marco and is excited about his life and performances. That is until one night when he witnesses a woman fall from a box from the fourth tier at the opera. After all has been investigated, he makes it his mission to find out about the woman and the masked man who shoved her. He starts becoming late for his rehearsals and his wife cannot understand his involvement in solving the murder mystery. The book is full of interesting characters starting with the dead woman's servant Pamarino- a dwarf who is madly in love with the dead woman. Messer Grande is the investigator who enlists the help of Tito in solving the mystery he already knows the answers to. As you read through this fast-paced book, you will visit towns and ghettos that are so colorful in their description you can smell the river as you travel on a gondola. Just when you think you have solved the murder mystery another suspect comes into play in "Her Deadly Mischief" by Beverle Graves Myers.

In 1742 castrato Tito Amato and company are performing Rossini's Armida at the Teatro San Marco. There is plenty of excitement in the air as this is opening night. However, as the opera is performed a frustrated Tito targets his voice at the rude spectators behind the closed curtained fourth-tier box owned by Alessio Pino, son of a master glassmaker. Tito feels better for a moment when the curtains open. However that nanosecond passes as a masked man is struggling with a woman before pushing her to her death. The victim is popular but manipulative courtesan Zulietta Giardino, a conniving courtesan. Tito is the sole witness and explains to the Venetian constabulary head Messer Grand that he saw a very tall masked person push Zulietta. That night he tells his Jewish wife Liya, disowned by her family, what he witnessed. The married couple investigates as does Grand, but many diverse suspects surface including one who kidnaps their son. The latest Baroque historical mystery (see THE IRON TONGUE OF MIDNIGHT, PAINTED VEIL, INTERRUPTED ARIA and CRUEL MUSIC) is a great tale that once again brings vibrantly to life mid eighteenth century Venice. Besides the music scene, readers obtain a perspective of the degree of anti-Semitism the lead couple faces including the opposite cutting sword of the ostracism from Liya's Jewish family. The whodunit is cleverly devised to provide readers with an exciting mystery and a strong background that makes Venice circa 1742 seem real as virtuoso Beverle Graves Myers provides a tremendous historical. Harriet Klausner