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Deadly Verse
In Deadly Verse, Carla and Owen Bass have dinner with Owen's old college chum, Hugh Winters. Hugh has recently retired from his hotel management job on Celestial Navigations Cruise Line to open an antiquarian bookstore in Braga. Mysteriously, he asks Owen to keep a document overnight - supposedly an original handwritten sonnet by the Portuguese Renaissance poet, Luís Vaz de Camões, worth one and a half million dollars if it is authentic. Reluctantly, Owen agrees. And then his friend disappears. Soon, Detective Fernandes is on the scene, and once again Carla's curiosity gets her in serious trouble.
202 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2022
2 people are currently reading
About the author
Elizabeth Varadan
17 books25 followersMy husband and I lived in Midtown Sacramento for many years, a beautiful area with bookstores, art stores, cafes, tree-lined streets, and old Victorians and bungalows. In February, 2021 we moved to Braga, Portugal, where two of my cozy mysteries are set.
I love to read all kinds of books: cozy mysteries, historical fiction, middlegrade and YA, poetry . . .
I love to read all kinds of books: cozy mysteries, historical fiction, middlegrade and YA, poetry . . .
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2022
Deadly Verse is a mystery. And a travelogue. And mostly a love letter to Braga, Portugal.
Elizabeth Varadan, who has lived in Braga, set her second Carla Bass cozy against Braga Romana, an annual five-day celebration of the city’s Roman past with parades, skits, dances, musical performances and mock battles between centurions and gladiators.
While taking in as much of the festivities as she can, Carla also asks questions.
Like, who really is her husband’s friend, Hugh? And why does his body turn up on the banks of the river?
Carla and her husband, Owen, are in Braga while Owen completes renovation on a boutique hotel. Although Carla isn’t involved in the renovation, she uses her time wisely, seeking out items for her interior design business in San Francisco. When Hugh tells them about his plan to open an antiquarian bookstore they’re intrigued until he insists on handing his “treasure”, a hand-written 16th Century sonnet by Portugal’s cherished poet, Camões, to Owen for safekeeping.
Hugh doesn’t turn up for a meeting with a possible buyer the next morning so Carla and Owen head to the police station to report him missing and discover his body has been found.
Who would murder a bookseller and why? In this case for the sonnet, worth 1.5 million euros.
Despite warnings from the police and misgivings from Owen, Carla asks questions. Of a young woman running a bookstore, of a brash New Yorker and of the police.
Through a gourmet’s trail of Braga restaurants and coffee shops, the twists and turns take the reader through a taunt, tight mystery, with a wonderful dose of Roman history and culture—Carla runs into Centurions in armor, men in togas and women in stolas, all getting into the spirit of the festa.
This is Varadan’s second book in the Carla Bass series and a well-told, nifty story. I highly recommend it.
Elizabeth Varadan, who has lived in Braga, set her second Carla Bass cozy against Braga Romana, an annual five-day celebration of the city’s Roman past with parades, skits, dances, musical performances and mock battles between centurions and gladiators.
While taking in as much of the festivities as she can, Carla also asks questions.
Like, who really is her husband’s friend, Hugh? And why does his body turn up on the banks of the river?
Carla and her husband, Owen, are in Braga while Owen completes renovation on a boutique hotel. Although Carla isn’t involved in the renovation, she uses her time wisely, seeking out items for her interior design business in San Francisco. When Hugh tells them about his plan to open an antiquarian bookstore they’re intrigued until he insists on handing his “treasure”, a hand-written 16th Century sonnet by Portugal’s cherished poet, Camões, to Owen for safekeeping.
Hugh doesn’t turn up for a meeting with a possible buyer the next morning so Carla and Owen head to the police station to report him missing and discover his body has been found.
Who would murder a bookseller and why? In this case for the sonnet, worth 1.5 million euros.
Despite warnings from the police and misgivings from Owen, Carla asks questions. Of a young woman running a bookstore, of a brash New Yorker and of the police.
Through a gourmet’s trail of Braga restaurants and coffee shops, the twists and turns take the reader through a taunt, tight mystery, with a wonderful dose of Roman history and culture—Carla runs into Centurions in armor, men in togas and women in stolas, all getting into the spirit of the festa.
This is Varadan’s second book in the Carla Bass series and a well-told, nifty story. I highly recommend it.
October 28, 2022
Try as she might, interior designer and amateur sleuth Carla Bass can’t resist delving into another murder mystery, especially one delivered directly to her by the shocking disappearance and death of her husband Owen’s college buddy, whom she’d met only the night before. The Basses have temporarily left their San Francisco home for Braga, Portugal, where Owen manages the restoration of a boutique hotel and Carla continues to serve her Bay Area clients from the historical and vibrant city. In their relatively short stay there, Carla has already solved one harrowing murder mystery, (Elizabeth Varadan’s Deadly Vintage) and is now looking forward to shopping for her high-end clients while enjoying the charms and culture of Portugal. But when her husband’s old friend shows up in Braga asking the couple to hide a 16th century original sonnet by Portugal’s greatest poet for him overnight, then is murdered later that evening, Carla is compelled to solve the mystery of his death and the role the valuable sonnet plays in it.
As in her first cozy mystery, Deadly Vintage, Varadan takes us on a fascinating journey with vivid characters, some familiar such as her nemesis, Braga’s Detective Fernandez, and some new, such as New York’s chameleon-like bookseller Sara Kane. And also as in her first cozy mystery, Varadan has infused this page-turner with beautiful settings (I must go to Portugal soon!) some serious cliff-hangers, and not a little dry humor. This mystery would make a terrific movie, and I hope a third Carla Bass mystery is in the works!
As in her first cozy mystery, Deadly Vintage, Varadan takes us on a fascinating journey with vivid characters, some familiar such as her nemesis, Braga’s Detective Fernandez, and some new, such as New York’s chameleon-like bookseller Sara Kane. And also as in her first cozy mystery, Varadan has infused this page-turner with beautiful settings (I must go to Portugal soon!) some serious cliff-hangers, and not a little dry humor. This mystery would make a terrific movie, and I hope a third Carla Bass mystery is in the works!
October 24, 2022
This cozy mystery has it all: a smart, sassy protagonist; an alluring backdrop in stunning Braga, Portugal; and an intriguing plot that will keep a reader turning the pages. Ms. Varadan's descriptions of the city offer vistas full of culture and sensory details, and the suspenseful storyline keeps us guessing until the exciting climax. Deadly Verse is a super-fun read and an excellent follow-up to Deadly Vintage. Treat yourself and get both!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews