The Borgia Portrait: A Venetian Mystery

Hewson’s convoluted second mystery narrated by archivist Arnold Clover (following 2022’s The Medici Murders) finds Brit Lizzie Hawker employing him to serve as her guide to Venice. Lizzie’s mother, Venetian countess Lucia Scacchi, disappeared 30 years earlier after an apparent suicide (though her body was never found), leaving Lizzie heir to the ancient, semiderelict palazzo Ca’Scacchi. Rumor has it that hidden somewhere on the grounds is a priceless erotic portrait of 15th-century noblewoman Lucrezia Borgia, which the Venetian government wants found and kept in Italy. Matters take a bizarre turn when a corpse believed to be Lizzie’s mother is discovered in a secret crypt under the palazzo’s courtyard, and beneath the body, a typewritten story containing eight clues Lizzie and Arnold must solve to find the missing portrait.Their treasure hunt leads them into dark corners of Venice where they’re pursued by others on the same trail. Hewson takes readers on an exhaustive tour of a fascinating city, sometimes at the expense of the central mystery. Still, there’s enough intrigue at hand for readers who prefer their puzzle solving with a side of travelogue. (Aug.)