This week we hear about the newest novel from Crime Cymru’s Philip Gwynne Jones as he takes us away to the beautiful city of Venice
Hi, everyone!
Well, by the time you read this, The Venetian Candidate – Nathan Sutherland’s seventh adventure – will be less than a week from publication. Yes, that’s seven. How on earth did that happen?
The novel takes place in January 2020, just a few months after the events of The Angels of Venice. Why then? Well, like many authors, I was wondering just how to react to the events of the COVID 19 pandemic and when I started work on the novel, in the middle of 2021, the future was still uncertain. Quite simply, setting the novel immediately before the outbreak in Italy bought me a bit of time!
My original title was going to be Ice Cold in Venice but my editor pointed out that (a) it was too jokey and (b) how many people would get the reference to an old John Mills film? She was right, of course, and so it became The Venetian Candidate and if you think that’s another call back to an old film, well, you’d be right.
The novel sees Nathan reluctantly dragged into the grubby world of Italian politics and the rise of an unscrupulous populist who is more than happy to make alliances with some very unpleasant people in order to advance his career. Thank goodness nothing like that happens in real life, eh?
As to how this all ties in with a remote Commonwealth War Grave and a classic of 1950s Italian cinema – well, you’ll have to read The Venetian Candidate to find out.
I hope you enjoy it, and here’s just a little taster for you…
My breath steams in the air and fogs the windscreen of the Land Rover. I wipe it clear, and my fingers come away damp and stinging with the cold. My body, now, is starting to shake in the freezing air. I could, I know, switch on the engine and turn the heating up, but any noise would seem inappropriate. I don’t want to break the silence._
Ahead of me I can see three dark figures, still amidst the white, their silhouettes blurred by the misted windscreen. Again, I wipe it clear, this time with the sleeve of my coat in order to spare my fingers._
I take a deep breath, and pull down the mirror to check my reflection. My image smiles back at me, almost laughing at the absurdity of this act of vanity. Yet this has become a reflex, an act of self-protection. Never appear looking less than perfect. Never have a hair out of place. And, most certainly, never wear the same dress twice. _
It’s different for men, of course._
I smile back at my reflection. My eyes are a little red, a little tired perhaps, but nothing too noticeable. At least to an audience of three. _
Three people. And a dead man._
The Venetian Candidate will be available in hardback, ebook and on audio from July 13th, and is available for pre-order now.
Philip Gwynne Jones was born in Swansea and grew up in South Wales. He spent twenty years in the IT industry before realising he was congenitally unsuited to it, and now works as a writer and translator. He lives in Venice with his wife Caroline, and a modestly friendly cat called Mimì.
He enjoys cooking, art, classical music and opera; and can occasionally be seen and heard singing bass with Cantori Veneziani. He also likes classic horror films and listens to far too much Italian progressive rock.
Twitter : @PGJonesVenice