The Tempest

A Spanish art historian gets caught up in a Venetian murder investigation in this steamy and smart mystery by the author of Cons. In a tale with all the complex twists and turns of the city itself, The Tempest is a marvelously complex, erotic, and atmospheric mystery reminiscent of the bestselling novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte and Iain Pears. Murder, love, betrayal, and some of the world's most beautiful objets d'art come together in Juan Manuel de Prada's tempestuous, prize-winning novel set in Europe's quintessentially enigmatic city: Venice. Alejandro Ballesteros, a young Spanish art historian, arrives in wintry Venice to study Giorgione's painting "The Tempest," but on his first day there, he witnesses a shocking murder and is propelled into a dangerous web that brings together the city's rarified academic world and a master forger . . . Exploring the boundaries between art and reality, intellect and passion, The Tempest is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking novel by one of Spain's most gifted writers. Praise for The Tempest "[De Prada's] mesmerizing, surreal evocation of Venice is genuinely haunting." — Booklist "Intelligent. . . . De Prada does a good job balancing the murder mystery with his exploration of the history of Giorgione's painting." — Publishers Weekly