Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

Another mystery for the “I liked this well enough but I doubt I’ll remember any of it in six months” pile.

If you’re in it largely for setting and atmosphere, this book does its job well. Venice is the perfect creepy, crumbly setting for a mystery, and I’m surprised writers don’t use it more often. Here the author does a good job of incorporating the city itself.

Venice is a confusingly designed and not particularly well-labeled place (I can personally attest to this, having once been lost there for almost four hours trying to find my way back to my hotel in the middle of the night), and this book does a good job of using that setting well.

The mystery itself isn’t really anything new or exceptional, but it’s fine enough, logical, and doesn’t detract from the atmosphere of the story if that’s enough for you as a reader.

I’m skeptical of similar content by the author because I can’t imagine this caliber of plot holding my attention without the specific setting of Venice, but in itself this was an enjoyable read.

Nancy and Leo Tremayne are on their honeymoon in Venice in 1955, the beautiful Italian city built on water, it should be about romantic gondola rides and spending their days together. But, Leo is an art professor, he’s attending a conference and Nancy explores Venice on her own. One night Nancy is attending the opera at La Fenice, she’s shocked to see a lady fall from a balcony and it’s the same lady that Nancy had seen earlier that day, while buying an ice cream and they spoke. She’s sure she saw a shadow in the balcony and was Marta Moretto at the opera on her own, did she fall, commit suicide or was she pushed?

Leo's positive it was a tragic accident, Nancy isn’t convinced and she asks Leo’s assistant Archie Jago to help her investigate further. Nancy has no idea she’s putting herself in harm’s way, someone is stealing precious statues and killing people to cover their tracks. When she discovers the shocking truth, Nancy's in danger and Archie comes to her rescue. The Venice Atonement is a murder mystery, Nancy uncovers who the killer is and it’s the last person you would expect.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, perfect for people who enjoy reading a light mystery/suspense story and three stars from me.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. I really struggled to get into it and struggled with the format.

A somewhat far fetched murder mystery with stilted storytelling set in 1950s Venice. The author captures the atmosphere of the time.

An atmospheric vividly described murder mystery set in Venice Italy, with a courageous heroine, with a past, and a dark web of danger and deceit. Set in the mid-1950s, this story has a glamorous aura, associated with the period, and the iconic Italian setting.

The mystery is true to the British murder mystery style, with a cast of complex characters with hidden pasts, and secrets. The mystery, which begins with a tragic event, leads Nancy on a dark and sometimes life-threatening exploration to find the truth.

She goes against the wishes of her seeming beguine, but actually controlling new husband, and forms an unexpected alliance. Archie is reluctant to help but feels honour bound to.

The subsequent relationship between Nancy and Archie is interesting, but not concluded. The backstory of Nancy and Leo’s marriage is also revealed as the story progresses. All of the main protagonists are diverse and engaging, as are the situations and settings Nancy is drawn into, in her quest for the truth.

The ending ties up the strands of the mystery well. A complex, historically true murder mystery, set in a wonderfully glamorous, yet sinister Venice.

I received a copy of this book from Canelo via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

After watching a woman fall to her death while watching the opera at La Fenice, newlywed Nancy Tremayne decides to prove that it was not an accident or a suicide as everyone believes. "The Venice atonement" has all the ingredients to make of this the perfect read for me: a whodunnit in a gorgeous setting with an amateur detective and a sidekick that make an interesting pair.

I specially liked the vivid descriptions of Venice and how Nancy's character has a mind of her own, and not conforms to her husband's or society's expectations for a woman and wife in the 1950s. I also liked how her relationship with Archie evolved throughout the story. I can't help thinking that Leo must be hiding something, and I hope we can find more about it and about Nancy's troubled past, seeing as this one feels like the first book in a series.

Nice murder mystery in the city of Venice post WWII with well developed characters, and although I suspected who the murderer was I didn't guess the motive.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Venice this novel deals with the period after the war and Nancy and Leo Tremayne are on honeymoon but he as a Professor has to attend a Conference so Archie his assistant is left in charge of Nancy in his absence. Obviously it is part of a series of novels as we learn that Nancy has married Leo to get away from her ex-fiancé who has stalked, told lies about her and prior to her escape trashed her home. Venice is beautifully described and is at the centre of the story and Nancy’s curiosity about a seemingly strange suicide of a woman leads her into danger and puts Archie at risk too. Great twists and turns and a feeling at the end that this story will last into another novel.

Set in beautiful Venice, this is the story of Nancy and her quest for the truth, having witnessed a woman fall to her death at the opera. I loved the descriptions of Venice and the sights of Italy. This would make a brilliant holiday book despite the nature of the storyline- it is gripping, whilst at the same time sunny and makes you desperate for a cocktail.

Nancy and Leo Tremayne are newlyweds and on honeymoon in Venice but Leo has business meetings and conferences so Nancy has to spend a lot of time on her own. Leo's assistant Archie is given the task of ensuring she is safe and to take her where she wants to go.
After a night at the theatre, she sees Marta Moretto fall over the balcony to her death and this starts a chain of events that will put her and Archie in danger.

The story builds as Nancy's curiosity and search for the truth goes from one theory and suspect to another and you discover the clues as she does.

A great read with the history and surroundings of Venice a lovely backdrop to this murder mystery.

I found it a little difficult to get into this book, perhaps because for me, the characters seemed stilted and rather wooden. The best part of the book, from my point of view, is the description of Venice. Nancy and Leo seem to be the most unlikely honeymooners and I suppose I can understand why Nancy was so keen to investigate the murder that happened right in front of her! . Archie was the character that grew on me, initially reluctant to help he proved to be extremely supportive. It's a pleasant read but not for me, a memorable one.

I found this book a little bit odd - there were so many references to what had gone before, and what was going to happen afterwards was so left open at the end, that, rather weirdly, it felt as though it was the middle book in a trilogy. I even had to look to check that wasn't true!
Taken as a book by itself, it had some good things and some not-so-much. Venice was portrayed reasonably accurately, so those of us who know Venice won't get unduly irritated. However, the time period that this book was set in gave us a supposed heroine who seemed, to the modern eye, rather feeble. In some respects she seemed more nosy and pushy than you would have expected of the time, yet at others she seemed to be more in character.
I did find the story interesting, yet the heroine seemed to be content to allow any crimes to go unpunished. Interesting, but not outstanding.

Shades of Mary Stewart

There's not a cliffhanger in this cleverly developed Hitchcockian mystery, but I was left with a desire to know more about these characters down the road. Set in 1955, the burgeoning push of women in the workworld and the push back by men expecting complacent and compliant homebound helpmeets is highlighted quite clearly as our new bride (and there's quite a story there in and of itself) sees a woman fall to her death and becomes convinced that she was murdered.

Venice just after the 2nd World War.. Newly married Nancy a chance meeting with a local lady sets off a series of problems and intrigues that Nancy feels she needs answers.. Her husband Leo doesn't agree with her thoughts but her husband's assistant Archie becomes a close confidont. Can Nancy discover the truth before it's too late?

Following her sudden marriage to the much older art professor Leo Tremayne in 1955, Nancy finds herself exploring Venice, with nothing else to do until she witnesses a woman she'd met once before tumble from a balcony at the opera. Ruled a suicide, Nancy isn't so sure. With nothing else to do and wanting to find her own place in the world and her marriage, she jumps headlong into investigating the mysterious death, convinced it's a murder. Often heedless of the danger she could find herself in, she's quickly grateful for the begrudgingly given help from her husband's aloof (to her) assistant. As their departure date from Venice rushes towards them, Nancy hurries to solve her mystery.

Embedded in this book is a mystery and the struggles of a married woman in the 1950s. The two played off of each other brilliantly and, while I really liked the ending, it left me wanting more of Nancy and wanting to know about her future and if she ever truly finds her feet as a married woman. I loved the fact that Nancy's soul searching was a key part of her desire to solve the mysterious death of someone she'd spoken to once.

In the 1950s, women who married well were not expected to work, nor did their husbands tend to want them to work. This is the kind of marriage Nancy has found herself in. Her husband is a prominent and important man in the art world, and he expects Nancy to act accordingly. But Nancy came from a very different world, one where she had a job that gave her the means to take care of herself. Finding herself suddenly married to a man who doesn't want her to work leaves her struggling to comprehend her new life, which drives her desire to solve the mystery of Marta Moretto's death.

The mystery itself isn't too twisty, but did have some delightful turns I wasn't expecting. It turned out to be a much more complicated web with unlikely players than I initially thought it would be. Even though I found the first half of the book to be a tad slow, it did set up the rest of the book brilliantly and I loved that Nancy connected the dots as quickly as I did. The second half was when the mystery really started to warm up and a dangerous air quickly set it. While it was easy to put aside the book after a chapter or two in the beginning, I quickly found the opposite to be true once I hit the halfway mark. The mystery was well-done, very well-handled, and overall extremely satisfactory.

What I most enjoyed was the setting. Not only does the city of Venice present romance and intrigue, it proves to be the perfect backdrop for the mystery, what with it's long canals of water, the danger of flooding, the isolated islands, and the fog that comes with being by the sea. The city and the mystery worked perfectly together. But I also loved that Allingham actually talked about the city and real places in Venice rather than simply use it as a backdrop, a setting for the sake of having a setting. I've only been once, but this book really makes me want to go back and re-experience the city.

I loved the characters and how well-developed and complex they were. Nancy was both strong and fragile. She was quick to make decisions and see them through, but her past traumas also gave her an air of fragility that was well-used in the story but felt a little undeveloped. Most of the time, it felt like her past was there to be used as a tool and not to really develop Nancy's character. But I loved Archie, Nancy's husband's assistant. He was often cold to Nancy, but went out of his way to help her as she worked to solve the mystery. He was always there for her even though he exuded a strong dislike for her. Their relationship was complex and full of ups and downs, mostly professional but touching on personal once in a while.

Overall, this was a delightful mystery, full of turns that twisted without being too mind boggling. I loved that my mind wasn't completely confused by the end, but, instead, felt like the mystery had been fully resolved, as unexpected as some of the elements were. The characters and their interactions moved the story along rather nicely and I felt almost entirely satisfied by the last page. I wouldn't mind knowing what's next in store for Nancy, Archie, and Leo.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Canelo for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Link to review: https://thelilycafe.wordpress.com/2019/06/27/book-review-the-venice-atonement-by-merryn-allingham/

This was a fascinating story set in Venice, one of my favourite places, so I was able to visualise a lot of what was going on. The subject matter was fraud and theft of various types of art. Lots of twists and turns and rather an abrupt conclusion but all's well that ends well.

What an enchanting read.
The descriptive writing portrayed Venice brilliantly.
The ending kept me guessing right until the end of the book. Iam hoping that there are more books containing these characters.

The setting of this book was very well done. I enjoyed the characters, although I found Nancy’s persistence in tracking down the solution to the mystery somewhat at odds with her fears and her trauma at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. The plot was a little strained at times, but overall this was an entertaining whodunnit set amid the art world and canals of Venice.

A most excellent story, set in the 1950’s, In Venice. Nancy and Leo are on their honeymoon, but it is combined with a conference that Leo is involved in, and consequently Nancy has a lot of time on her hands. Leo is much older than her, theirs was a marriage of convenience, and he gets angry if she doesn’t do what he expects of her. He has a manservant, Archie, who seems to resent Nancy, but gets involved in her ‘adventures’ anyway.

The story begins in an intense moment, and from that point on the tension builds and builds right up to the last chapter. Nancy is a headstrong young woman, there is a incident regarded as suicide, but she is sure it was murder, and does everything she can to prove it, and find the murderer. The paths she takes lead her into the murky world of art theft, forgery and fraud. The descriptions of Venice are very detailed, you get a real sense of time and place. She is a bit of a grasshopper with her thoughts on who might be guilty of murder, first one man then another; but although on the right lines she puts herself in extreme danger by not guessing the correct person. It doesn’t help that everybody else believes the murder was in fact a suicide.

The writing is excellent, you have to know what happens next! I did guess who the murderer was about half way through the book, although it was a feeling rather than anything pointing that way. Because it is a page-turner it is an easy, quick read, and most enjoyable.

I tried very hard to enjoy this book but sadly failed. Although it has a potentially good storyline, most of the characters were unbelievable and not very well portrayed.
The author is eloquent in her writing style and her descriptions of Venice were evocative of that period. However, I struggled to finish the book and I'm struggling even more to write a meaningful review.
Clearly, the author has lots of fans but unfortunately, I am not one of them.