The Stargazer

""My Lord, I scarcely expected to see you here,"" says Bianca Salva, calmly, in the opening scene of this stellar debut novel set in Renaissance Venice. Bianca holds a bloody dagger over the dead body of Isabella Bellochio as she addresses Ian Foscari, who believes, since the dagger bears his coat of arms, that Bianca murdered Isabella to frame him. But Bianca, the sharp-witted and unconventional daughter of a physician, knows the dagger is not the murder weapon. The two banter with mutual vigor, contempt and sublimated lust--between Bianca's hilarious bouts of sneezing. Ian formulates a plan that allows him to investigate the enigmatic woman while satisfying his family's desire for him to wed. He will install Bianca in his palazzo as his fianc e and give her one week to prove her innocence. Bianca agrees on the condition that she can autopsy the corpse for her own iconoclastic research on female anatomy. Ian hides the body to prevent suspicion from falling on him until he can solve the mystery. A vivid collection of sensuous, dangerous characters complicate the plan, including secretive servants, an exhibitionist courtesan and Ian's lascivious ex-fianc e, as well as the quirky all-male Arboretti family. An unknown source, possibly the murderer, drops hints to the government regarding the whereabouts of Isabella's body, and Ian is still stubbornly suspicious of Bianca. Jaffe's sure prose moves to an exquisitely dramatic climax as Bianca's lot grows desperate. The intricacies of Venetian society, imaginative love scenes and a memorable cast enlivens Jaffe's creative and suspenseful plot. Since five more novels are promised in this series, one hopes that Jaffe will develop the fertile stories of the other Arboretti and their mysterious cousins, and continue to combine historical context with lush sensuality and nuanced wit. Agent, Susan Ginsburg. (July) FYI: Jaffe holds a doctorate in Comparative Literature of the Renaissance.