Fabulous Fiction Firsts #624 “I've always wanted to play a spy, because it is the ultimate acting exercise. You are never what you seem.” ~ Benedict Cumberbatch

Tue, 12/20/2016 - 9:06pm by muffy

Ascension, the first book in a new series by Gregory Dowling is set in 18th century Venice in the weeks leading up to the Feast of the Ascension.

Alvise Marango, having grown up in London, is back in Venice, the city of his birth, alone, barely making a living as a cicerone, if not for his command of the English language. Rescuing an unsuspecting Mr. Boscombe and his tutor Shackleford from some shady characters at the gondola landing, he is hired as guide as they continue their Grand Tour.

After a series of gruesome murders, with the latest being that of Shackleford, Mr. Boscombe is arrested, along with Marango as his accomplice. With a solid alibi and his intimate knowledge of Venetian history and politics, Marango impresses the authority enough to be recruited as a spy.

From the grandest palaces to its darkest alleys, he follows the trail of a missing book that might lead him to a secret society and its sinister plan to destroy the city on its most important and spectacular holiday. That is, if he manages to stay alive.

British author Gregory Dowling moved to Venice in 1981, where he teaches American Literature at Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

Readers partial to the setting and time period might also enjoy Beverle Graves Myers' Tito Amato series (many of them available for download), featuring an opera singer who is also a spy; and Jason Goodwin's The Bellini Card that takes Investigator Yashim of the Edgar Award-winning series to Venice.