Book Review: "Death in the Floating City"

"Death in the Floating City" by Tasha Alexander
First published in 2012
My rating 3.5 out of 5
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Tasha Alexander's Victorian-era crime solver Lady Emily is one of my favorite fictional heroines, and you can see from my review of Alexander's previous book that I'm a major fan of her work.

This installment of the "cozy" mystery series was set in Venice, and the atmosphere of the book -- gondola rides, maze-like alleyways, stunning architecture, delicious food -- was amazing. I also enjoyed the other story that played out in snippets between each chapter, which was a centuries-old romance between star-crossed lovers with historical significance to Lady Emily's Venice murder case.

Unfortunately, though I would hardly say it was a bad read, I didn't think "Death in the Floating City" was Alexander's strongest work. There were too many characters (or suspects) to keep straight and even after the final page I was still vaguely confused about some of the characters' roles.

Of the seven books in the Lady Emily series, I'd say this one was my least favorite. But the others are all excellent, and I'd definitely recommend them to any reader who's a fan of historical fiction and/or mysteries.

Happy reading!