The Venetian House

Whispers Beneath the Gondolas

Step into the labyrinthine canals of Venice, where moonlight dances on rippling water and secrets linger behind every shuttered window. In The Venetian House, Mary Nickson weaves a captivating tale of art, intrigue, and passion set against the city’s timeless beauty. When ambitious art historian Isabella Moretti inherits an aging palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal, she expects a straightforward restoration project. Instead, she uncovers a hidden chamber brimming with Renaissance masterpieces—and a cryptic journal that hints at a centuries-old betrayal. Nickson’s lush, evocative prose brings Venice to life: the heady scent of wisteria in Spring, the hushed echo of footsteps on marble floors, and the silver shimmer of masks drifting through Carnival night.

Portraits of Desire and Deceit

As Isabella enlists the help of Luca Santoro, a dashing Venetian restorer with his own haunted past, their professional collaboration blossoms into something more tender—and infinitely more perilous. Together they decipher coded annotations in dusty frescoes, trace the lost lineage of a powerful Doge, and navigate the rival ambitions of a shadowy collector determined to seize the palazzo’s treasures. From clandestine midnight vigils along the Zattere to candlelit debates in the gilded drawing rooms, each encounter pulses with the electric tension of unspoken longing and unrelenting danger. Subplots of family loyalty, artistic rivalry, and the weight of historical legacy intertwine, illustrating how love and greed can be equally enduring forces.

Resonance of Redemption

When a violent storm isolates the palazzo and a priceless painting vanishes, Isabella and Luca must race against time—and the tide—to expose the true villain before the city’s oldest vendetta claims another victim. In a breathtaking climax on the stone terrace overlooking the swirling lagoon, betrayals are laid bare and hearts laid open. By the final page, The Venetian House reveals that the greatest masterpiece is the one we create when we dare to restore broken souls as well as crumbling walls.

. Mary Nickson – acclaimed British novelist born in 1968, renowned for her richly atmospheric sagas of love, mystery, and the evocative power of place, whose works transport readers to worlds where history and heart converge.