The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

Lake Union Publishing, 411 pages, $14.95 (c2021)

“The Venice Sketchbook” has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Wartime romance. Venice. Art. What more do you need? The end.

Well, maybe a little more description.

Rhys Bowen — of Evan Evans and Molly Murphy fame — has channeled Mary Stewart and given her readers a novel of love and danger set before and during World War II.

Juliet Browning has left her drab, repetitive life in England to study art for one year in Venice. Although she is slightly older than her fellow art students, she still manages to form friendships and have a good time. Her joy is enhanced by meeting again a dark-haired, dashing Venetian, a count, no less, named Leo. She had met him a few years before when an elderly aunt took her to Italy for a cultural tour. They only had a day or so at the time, but it was love at first sight and for the ages. Of course. Then they meet again years later. Juliet is an adult and Leo is attractive.

The story switches often to a story told by Caroline Grant, another Englishwoman, but one whose time is now. Her great-aunt Lettie has died and left her enough money to travel to Venice to scatter her ashes. Among Aunt Lettie’s few possessions are art sketches. They are quite good and Caroline is amazed to find that her aunt had such a passion. There are also some keys.

Good fortune follows Caroline in her quest to find out more of her aunt’s life in Venice and she manages to discover what the keys open. They open the past.

Caroline, too, manages to find a dark and attractive stranger, Luca, to help her in her quest. One of the keys fits a small apartment at the top of a building belonging to Luca’s family. It turns out the apartment belongs to Aunt Lettie and, therefore, now belongs to Caroline.

Juliet’s story is told by her in bits and pieces. She has come to love Venice. So she stays for one reason or another even after Hitler begins attacking countries. Even after Italy enters the war.

Rhys Bowen is a good storyteller. She creates tension without inducing panic and fear in her readers. In her writing, she tries to show her basic belief that most humans are very good. It’s a sweet, melancholy story.