Carnival for the Dead

In Venice the past was more reticent. Beyond the tourist sights, San Marco and the Rialto, it lurked in the shadows, seeping out of the cracked stones like blood from ancient wounds, as if death itself was one more sly performance captured beneath the bright, all-seeing light of the lagoon.

It's February and Carnival time in Venice. Forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo visits the city to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her beloved bohemian Aunt Sofia. But from the moment she is met off the vaporetto by an anonymous masked man dressed in the costume of the Plague Doctor, Teresa starts to suspect that all is not well. There are no clues to Sofia's disappearance, and a visit to her strange apartment in Dorsoduro confirms her suspicions.

The puzzle deepens when a letter reveals a piece of fiction in which both Sofia and Teresa appear. Even more strange are the links to Venetian history which gradually begin to surface. Are the messages being sent by Sofia? Her abductor? Or a third party seeking to help her unravel the mystery?