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Reuben and Cynthia Frost Mystery #7
A Very Venetian Murder
During an Italian getaway, Reuben Frost tracks a historically minded murderer
The sun shines bright on the canals of Venice, and in his seat in the motoscafo, Reuben Frost can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be. For more than two decades, Frost and his wife have made an autumn pilgrimage to the Bride of the Sea, and he credits the city’s restorative effects with helping him survive long into retirement. As always, the couple stays in the legendary Hotel Cipriani, presently occupied by the outrageous fashion designer Gregg Baxter, but this time they’ll learn there’s more than one way to die in Venice.
After surviving an attempted poisoning, Baxter is found stabbed to death by a colorful hand-blown glass dagger—the weapon of choice for Venetian assassins ever since the Renaissance. With the help of Commissario Valier, an Italian detective, Frost must find the killer or risk spoiling his vacation.
The sun shines bright on the canals of Venice, and in his seat in the motoscafo, Reuben Frost can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be. For more than two decades, Frost and his wife have made an autumn pilgrimage to the Bride of the Sea, and he credits the city’s restorative effects with helping him survive long into retirement. As always, the couple stays in the legendary Hotel Cipriani, presently occupied by the outrageous fashion designer Gregg Baxter, but this time they’ll learn there’s more than one way to die in Venice.
After surviving an attempted poisoning, Baxter is found stabbed to death by a colorful hand-blown glass dagger—the weapon of choice for Venetian assassins ever since the Renaissance. With the help of Commissario Valier, an Italian detective, Frost must find the killer or risk spoiling his vacation.
- GenresMystery
254 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1992
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Haughton Murphy
13 books4 followersThe pseudonymous Haughton Murphy, in real life former Wall Street lawyer James Duffy, and his wife have vacationed frequently in Venice.
Mr. Duffy is a member of the Bar of the City of New York and a former member of the American and New York State Bar Associations. He served as a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs during the administration of Mayor Edward Koch. In 1995 President Clinton named him to the Board of Directors of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, a government-sponsored entity to foster economic growth in Albania.
While a partner at Cravath, Mr. Duffy was an avid writer and a member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America and the British Crime Writers Association. He was a part-time and summer reporter for the Daily Times of Watertown, New York, from 1952 to 1956, and wrote reports for Professor Seymour E. Harris of the Fund for Advancement of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1958. After he became a partner at Cravath, he authored Domestic Affairs: American Programs and Priorities in 1979; Funding for Culture: The Cultural Policy of The City of New York, a report to the Mayor by the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs in 1983; and two murder mystery novels, under the pseudonym Haughton Murphy, in 1986 and 1987. Since retiring as a partner, he has written five additional mystery novels under his pseudonym and another novel, Dog Bites Man: City Shocked!, under his own name.
Mr. Duffy received an A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1956, where he was a Senior Editor of the Daily Princetonian and research assistant to Professor Alpheus Thomas Mason in connection with his biography of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, and an LL.B. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1959. Mr. Duffy served in the military for six months prior to joining Cravath in 1959, and was recalled to active duty in 1961. He returned to Cravath in 1962 and became a partner in 1968.
Mr. Duffy is a member of the Bar of the City of New York and a former member of the American and New York State Bar Associations. He served as a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs during the administration of Mayor Edward Koch. In 1995 President Clinton named him to the Board of Directors of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, a government-sponsored entity to foster economic growth in Albania.
While a partner at Cravath, Mr. Duffy was an avid writer and a member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America and the British Crime Writers Association. He was a part-time and summer reporter for the Daily Times of Watertown, New York, from 1952 to 1956, and wrote reports for Professor Seymour E. Harris of the Fund for Advancement of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1958. After he became a partner at Cravath, he authored Domestic Affairs: American Programs and Priorities in 1979; Funding for Culture: The Cultural Policy of The City of New York, a report to the Mayor by the Mayor’s Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs in 1983; and two murder mystery novels, under the pseudonym Haughton Murphy, in 1986 and 1987. Since retiring as a partner, he has written five additional mystery novels under his pseudonym and another novel, Dog Bites Man: City Shocked!, under his own name.
Mr. Duffy received an A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1956, where he was a Senior Editor of the Daily Princetonian and research assistant to Professor Alpheus Thomas Mason in connection with his biography of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, and an LL.B. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1959. Mr. Duffy served in the military for six months prior to joining Cravath in 1959, and was recalled to active duty in 1961. He returned to Cravath in 1962 and became a partner in 1968.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 2, 2014
This is an older book that I purchased at a garage sale. Since it had murder in the title I took it for a quarter. This could be classified as a cozy mystery, but I felt as if I was reading the script of a tour guide in Venice. The book has the main characters, Reuben and Cynthia Frost, as older adults in their seventies. They have gone to Venice in September for many years and are familiar with the city and it’s restaurants. The victim is a designer that no one seems to really care about. The author gives the impression that he was a terrible person who thought only of himself and didn’t care who he belittled. The suspects were all associates of his of some kind.
The book was difficult to read because it reminded me of when I went to a tourist type city and the tour guide would describe the buildings or the statues, etc. I did enjoy the part about the restaurants and what the main characters had for a meal. Apparently the restaurants are real and you can purchase those items. The mystery was simple. Right after the murder happened I knew who the killer was. I believe this book is a series of Reuben Frost. I haven’t read any others and not certain I will if they all read like a tour guide book.
The book was difficult to read because it reminded me of when I went to a tourist type city and the tour guide would describe the buildings or the statues, etc. I did enjoy the part about the restaurants and what the main characters had for a meal. Apparently the restaurants are real and you can purchase those items. The mystery was simple. Right after the murder happened I knew who the killer was. I believe this book is a series of Reuben Frost. I haven’t read any others and not certain I will if they all read like a tour guide book.
March 10, 2016
Meh. Not that impressive. I had higher expectations. There was more dining than investigating going on through the whole plot.
May 7, 2011
I just had to comment on this book even though I read it a long time ago. A friend gave me this book to read before a trip to Venice in the early 90's. It is a murder mystery ---- but my favorite part of this book is that the main character loves to eat in the many restaurants of Venice. He describes in detail everything he enjoys and the name of the real establishment. My friend Ann and I decided to try one place and enjoyed the entire meal as described in the book----Venitian Pork chops (huge, covered the whole plate) cooked in vinegar and Gorgonzola pasta. Talk about rich and, yes, thank goodness for Tums.
Maybe I will read it again before my next trip!
Maybe I will read it again before my next trip!
January 3, 2012
Interesting older adult main characters but the plot was pedestrian. Typical cosy type mystery but nothing special.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews