I get this uneasy feeling that "Venice in winter" becomes a template for writers who want an easy way out looking for an unsettling place. Of course it all started with "Don't look now", but Daphne du Maurier did write a chilling story about a chilling off-season Venice. But then all kinds of strange stories popped up with Venice, labyrinths, chilling, murder, paranormal. Carnival for the Dead is one of them.

And yet it's a nice read. Nice fluff. A standard crime story in the end, Carnival for the Dead makes you hanging on to the story, which is meant as a compliment.
I haven't read any other book from Hewson, but I understand Theresa Lupo isn't the protagonist in his many other books. And I wonder: is Theresa Italian? Or is she Italian as English (and other) people think Italians are? Especially the male species. I didn't find it convincing.

Although the book is a fun read, I missed any connection to the bad guy. We only learn about him 80% into the book and by then it's clear this man is a one-dimensional character. No real surprises. And the closing chapters don't make the story any better: so, we get an explanation. So, it's writtten in a way that suspects the author wanted some supernatural glow. Alas. It all disappears, and it's not clear why the murderer and Theresa's helping hand are left in the dark. Omitting a name doesn't make them mysterious. It only makes them anonymous.

But then again, this is a friendly story about friendly people dealing with an unfriendly guy. That should keep you occupied for a few hours. ( )

The novel opens with Teresa Lupo arriving in Venice in the midst of Carnival with her mother who she constantly arguing with over everything. They are there not for the festivities but to investigate the disappearance of her bohemian aunt, Sofia, her mother’s sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. Sofa sent Teresa a letter to say she had to disappear for awhile but did not explain “why”. In her job as a police pathologist, Teresa has assisted in solving crimes in her hometown of Rome. She courageously feels she can find her aunt and be of assistance.

Soon after she arrives at Sofia’s apartment, she starts to receive peculiar communications, in the form of narratives. Some are short but…others are 27 pages in length that feature both Sofia and herself, as well as strangers she comes across in her sojourns through Venice.

This novel is arranged in a layout that is complex, confusing, but clever. It keeps you guessing. As Venice is my favorite city, the description of this magical city adds so much to the story.

The writer takes us on a journey of shadowy, complicated, and convoluted mystery with lots of twists and turns. You have no idea who is behind the events that takes keep us following one clue after another. I love trying to figure out “who done it”.

I did not feel that I should have read the other books in the Nic Costa series to appreciate this novel. This book stands alone by itself. ( )

Dit was voor mij een eerste kennismaking met deze auteur en ik moet zeggen dat het een erg prettige kennismaking was. Het boek was spannend en alhoewel je kon merken dat dit toch een soort van spin-off was van de Nic Costa boeken vond ik het niet echt storend. Ik ben nu wel erg nieuwsgierig geworden naar de andere boeken van David Hewson. ( )

David Hewson's Nic Costa novels of Rome feature strong plots and strong characters. Among the strongest of the secondary characters is police pathologist Teresa Lupo. However, when she goes to Venice during Carnival to search for her beloved aunt, who is missing, she may be at her most vulnerable because she is out of her element.

Teresa's Aunt Sofia has always lived as a vagabond. Even Teresa's mother doesn't know the kind of details that families usually know that prove helpful in, say, missing persons reports. When Teresa contacts the police, she is met with little sympathy. Her aunt is a grown woman with no diminished capacity and it's Carnival. The police have a lot of other things going on.

Staying at her aunt's flat, Teresa mets the neighbors, a young woman who makes masks for the other main occupant, an older man confined to a wheelchair. The owner is rarely there. The neighbors, although nice, especially for Venetians to Teresa's Roman mind, know little that is helpful. When Teresa finds an envelope slipped under the apartment door with a story, she learns that this and subsequently delivered stories are supposed to lead her to Sofia.

Hewson is a master at weaving these stories, which feature Teresa and other people she meets, with the real story of her search for Sofia. The stories include a British professor and a young Englishman who is a master baker, who both end up in Venice, and a woman who resembles Sofia's neighbor Camille, but with an odd need for nutrients in other people's blood. Carnival season and the narrow, twisty streets of Venice add layers of mystery to the novel; this is not the Venice of a traveller's delight, but rather a dark place where people's obsessions become overpowering.

The stories also feature the enigmatic Count St. Germain, who is based loosely on a real person who was as mysterious as the one in Hewson's story. Readers who know of a St. Germain through Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's groundbreaking series of historical paranormals or in Diana Gabaldon's stories will recognize this figure, even though he is not the same character.

When the stories Teresa has been receiving and her investigation merge into one storyline, there is the usual over-the-top action seen in most thrillers. But Hewson does make everything fit together without jamming it into place. And there is sweetness along with the bitter in the telling.

The main result of reading the novel, however, is to want to spend more time with Hewson's Nic Costa series and see Teresa Lupo back where she belongs. ( )

"Carnival for the Dead" by David Hewson was a major disappointment. I've read two of his other books in the Nic Costa series, one I liked a great deal, the other so-so. But it will be a long time before I read a fourth. The major attraction for me was Venice, where the story takes place, and this alone merits the 2 stars. Lots of detailed descriptions of the city, major landmarks, back alleys, Carnival, vaporetto (water taxis), a good bit of art history, and of course, the citizenry "I'm not Italian, I'm Venetian". But that's it. The mystery in this story is very lame, it's resolution incredibly boring. The story hinges on Arnaud aka The Count of Saint-Germain, born 400-500 years ago who somehow still survives, offering heroine Teresa advice on the case and on life, and at the conclusion explains in a 20 page closing dialog what the case was all about, tidying up all the loose ends. Teresa is a forensic pathologist working with Nic and team in Rome; she has come to Venice to find her missing aunt. The chapters are interlaced with short stories from a mysterious source, but they are even more dull than the investigation. Wish I had quit this book back at pages 50-100 when it became obvious this wasn't for me. ( )