The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
When Caroline Grant gets an unexpected gift, she is still having trouble accepting the dissolution of her marriage. Her adored great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a farewell whisper… Venice. To disperse Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she adored and to solve the mysteries that have been dormant for more than sixty years, respectively, is Caroline’s mission.
The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
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Juliet Browning, an art instructor, arrives in enchanting Venice in 1938. It’s a treasure trove of history, beauty, and art for her students. Juliet sees it as a chance to revisit painful memories and to reunite with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves but whose noble family has already decided what his future would be. Nothing, no matter how star-crossed, can separate them.
Before they are forced to battle, survive, and guard a secret that will bond them forever as the threat of war approaches Venice. Lettie’s life of unimaginable love, loss, and bravery is revealed key by key. Now that Caroline has started her own road of self-discovery, she can make it right again.
Rhys Bowen’s fascinating mysteries are put on hold in The Venetian Sketchbook. In this stand-alone book, two timelines are used to describe Caroline, Juliet’s great-niece, and their lives. They are both English, and Juliet falls in love while visiting Venice as a young woman. In 1939, she comes back to pursue her interest in painting while hoping to rekindle her romance with Leo. But, WWII breaks out, leaving her stranded in Italy. Many years after Caroline’s mother passes away, she leaves her a set of weird antique keys along with the instructions to travel to Venice and locate something of Juliet’s. In order to discover the enigmatic object Juliet left for Caroline, she must figure out what the keys open.
The two personalities and timelines are smoothly switched between in the narrative. Even in the presence of the possibility of war, daily life in Venice is explored and enjoyed. The reader empathizes with the many characters as Caroline looks for answers. Bowen has a talent for letting you feel a personal connection to these people.
With her intricately described settings, art culture, and longing romance set against the backdrop of Italy just before Hitler’s ascent, Bowen never fails to capture and amaze her. A generational romance founded on secrets is revealed, with references to rich Italian locations that transport you there.
I was interested in Lettie’s narrative because of the character she has shown in her journal entries. Although the plotline involves a fairly wimpy lady (both Caroline and Lettie) beginning to find her voice and sense of self after being freed from the life that defined her, Caroline came out as weak and flat. The romance components were a little more difficult to take in. Lettie and Leo’s story was credible enough for me to suspend my scepticism, and I have met couples whose lengthy marriages began with “love at first sight.” The romance plot surrounding Caroline appeared very fabricated and more like a Harlequin romance.
