Also found at the Second Cup official Bookcrossing site. This looks interesting, it is a mystery mixed in with a historical atmospheric twist, and uses a few real historical characters (including Robert Browning) as protagonists. Hopefully it is well-done...

Taken to the Bookcrossing meetup this morning here, where we restocked the shelves and exchanged books.

I snagged this book at our Winnipeg meetup five days ago but I've been so busy I didn't have time to sit down and do a JE until today. I thought I was supposed to have more leisure time when I retired!

I quite enjoyed this book set in Florence in 1855. Dibdin evokes the expat community that lived there until, as the police chief in the book says "The English are dying too much." Among the English living there were Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There were also quite a few Americans living there including the narrator Robert Booth who can live in quite a good style on the pittance his father gives him.

Robert Booth tells the story by writing to his friend Prescott. A mutual acquaintance Isabel Eakin has died. Apparently both men were in love with Isabel but she married a rich man. The couple came to Florence and rented a villa just outside of town. Booth is actually visiting the Brownings when word comes summoning Browning to the villa. Recognizing the address Browning gives to the cab driver Booth follows him. He enters the grounds through the garden where he spies the body of Isabel hanging from a tree. At first glance it would seem like Isabel hung herself but Browning determines from the placement of a table and other clues that she was murdered. Browning enlists Booth to help him solve the murder because he thinks that the police will conclude it was suicide. As Browning and Booth pursue their investigations other people end up dead and the pair discover that there are always mysterious messages somewhere near the bodies. Can they solve the clues and catch the murderer before more people die? There is a surprise ending which I truly did not see coming.

Dibdin lived in Italy for some years before returning to the US. He has a facility for describing the buildings, weather and people which made me almost see them. There are numerous references to Dante and his works, particularly Inferno. At times like this I wish I had a more classical education so that I could understand the references.

I am taking this book to the Winnipeg BookCrossers Dead of Winter meetup. If no-one claims it then it will be left on the OBCZ shelf. This release is for the 2019 Keep Them Moving Release Challenge.

When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.

This book is currently sitting on the Winnipeg Official Bookcrossing Zone bookshelf in Second Cup, 254 Edmonton St., Winnipeg MB.

It is waiting there for a new reader to take home, read, and release back into the wild!

Winnipeg bookcrossers meet at my location every month to chat about books, swap great reads, and release on the OBCZ shelves. Please join us! We love to see new faces! If you want to get notices of the meetings you can join our Facebook Group or our Yahoo Email Group! You will enjoy the comfy atmosphere, the fabulous coffees and teas, and the yummy treats!

This book has disappeared from my bookshelf. Write home, little book, and let all your previous holders know what adventures you have been on.