When the body of man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared. Where was the crime scene? And how can Brunetti identify the man when he can't show pictures of his face? The autopsy shows a way forward: it turns out the man was suffering from a rare, disfiguring disease. With Inspector Vianello,...

Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with--and protection from--Venice's "Thief Lord."

Since the publication of My Brilliant Friend, the first of the Neapolitan novels, Elena Ferrante's fame as one of our most compelling, insightful, and stylish contemporary authors has grown enormously. She has gained admirers among authors--Jhumpa Lahiri, Elizabeth Strout, Claire Messud, to name a few--and critics--James Wood, John Freeman, Eugenia Williamson, for example. But her most resounding success has undoubtedly been with readers, who have...

Details the events that occurred when Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii in 79 A.D., focusing on how this information was deduced from the skeletons found by archaeologists at the site. In ancient times, Pompeii was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Its 20,000 inhabitants lived in the shadow of Vesuvius, which they believed was nothing more than a mountain. But Vesuvius was a volcano. And on the morning of August 24, A.D. 79, Vesuvius...

Their magic tree house takes Annie and Jack to Pompeii just as Vesuvius is about to erupt, and they must find a Roman scroll before everything is covered with burning ash.

"Years after Commissario Guido Brunetti cleared her name in a murder investigation, Flavia Petrelli returns to Venice and La Fenice to sing the lead in Tosca. When Brunetti and his wife attend an early performance, Flavia receives a standing ovation. Back in her dressing room she finds, once again, too many bouquets of yellow roses from an anonymous fan. Flavia no longer feels flattered by these gifts. And Brunetti begins to think her fears are justified"--From...

Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she's had to leave home to pursue her career. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Manchester, England. Manchester, however, is no Venice. When Caterina gets word of a position back home, she jumps at the opportunity. The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks, believed to contain the papers of a baroque composer have been discovered....

"In this first novel in the internationally bestselling trilogy, One Step to You, two teenagers spend the best days of their lives together, but belonging to opposite worlds may eventually tear them apart forever. Just as in every other place in the world, teenagers in Rome, Italy, forge their own path separate from their parents. Some are hardworking and studious like Babi, a young girl waiting to find the love of her life. Then there are bad boys...

An investigation into the vicious murder of a transvestite takes Venice Police Commissario Guido Brunetti on a trail that leads him into a confrontation with the highest levels of the financial world, the Italian government, and the Church.